Healthcare and Insurance

Physicans: ‘More Work to Do’ With COVID-19

Heading into the final full week of stay-at-home directives from the state and from local governments in Kansas, physicians at the University of Kansas Hospital said today that public efforts to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic here had… more

Auto Insurers Giving Back Big Refunds to Consumers

Some of the nation's largest auto insurers are giving consumers a break since they aren't driving nearly as much during the COVID-19. Collectively, they are reportedly giving $7 billion in refunds and credits through May, including State Farm, which is… more

Furloughs, Exec Pay Cuts at Children’s Mercy

Children's Mercy Kansas City is furloughing 575 employees for 60 days and executives are taking pay cuts as a result of business loss from COVID-19. The pediatric health system is losing about $1 million in revenue per day, as surgeries… more

New Relief Bill Heading to White House

The House of Representatives has passed a $484-billion relief bill that would fund small businesses and hospitals, and now the measure goes before President Donald Trump. The bill includes $320 billion to replenish the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for small… more

Mental-Health Med Use Up During Pandemic

St. Louis-based Cigna's Express Scripts has done a research report that says anti-anxiety and anti-depressant and anti-insomnia prescriptions filled between Feb. 16 and March 15 increased 21 percent year over year, likely due to the pandemic. "Americans have grown increasingly… more

Centene Nabs KS Department of Corrections Contract

Centene Corp. announced that its subsidiary Centurion has been awarded a contract by the Kansas Department of Administration to provide healthcare services in the Department of Corrections facilities.   The two-year contract is expected to start on July 1 and… more

Is Johnson County On Downward COVID-19 Path?

Though it's too early to call it a trend, there is some encouraging news out of Johnson County, Kan. On April 20, the latest date for which data has been provided, there was only one positive COVID-19 test recorded by… more

Q&A With . . . Gary Morsch, COVID Care Force

Physician Gary Morsch, who led a COVID Care Force team of 12 medical volunteers to combat the coronavirus pandemic at its New York epicenter—and preparing to head west to take up the fight again at a hard-hit Navajo Indian reservation.… more

Facebook Creates Map That Tracks COVID-19 by County

Facebook, in a partnership with Carnegie Mellon University, has launched a COVID-19 heat map that tracks the virus by county around the country.  Viewing it on a local basis, one can zero in on particular counties in the Kansas City… more

Conagra Plant in Marshall Shutting Down

A Conagra plant in Marhsall, Mo., is shutting down after about 20 employees there tested positive for COVID-19. The plant, which reportedly was already practicing social distancing and making sanitation efforts, is set to reopen on April 27. The company… more