Healthcare and Insurance

Burns & McDonnell to Design $232 Million Addition for MU Health in Columbia

University of Missouri Health Care (MU Health Care) has selected Burns & McDonnell to plan and design a new $232 million hospital for women and children on its main hospital campus. Officials say the new facility will create a centralized… more

Nursing homes get COVID-19 vaccine through national program

The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) issued a statement Wednesday reported positive progress in the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine at long-term care homes and facilities across the U.S. through the pharmacy partership program.… more

Missouri health system noted for strong operations, finances

Among 14 health systems across the U.S. rated in terms of operational metrics and financial positions by Fitch Ratings, St. Louis-based Ascension made the top of the list. Ascension has an "AA+" rating and stable outlook with Fitch and an… more

Expanded partnership to deliver new digital program to Blue KC individual, ACA members

Kansas City-based not-for-profit health insurer Blue KC has announced an expanded partnership with HealthMine, a technology-enabled member engagement and rewards company. As Blue KC begins its re-entrance into the Affordable Care Act (ACA) market in 2021, the expansion will help to… more

Insurance Insights with Claude Thau

A 2019 Harvard report opens “American companies are facing a caregiving crisis—they just refuse to acknowledge it.”1  Various studies indicate that 75%-80% of employees providing care for adults say caregiving has a negative impact on their job performance.1,2 About 20%… more

Coping with COVID: National ranking shows Kansas lagging in number of COVID-19 vaccine shots given

Kansas is last in the nation when it comes to COVID-19 vaccinations, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Gov. Laura Kelly blames the issue on reporting problems and lack of proper training. Kansas has vaccinated just over… more

Coping with COVID: Booster shots of Pfizer vaccine begin this week for workers at KC area hospitals

Hospitals in the Kansas City metro began administering the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine to frontline workers who received their initial doses last month. The second dose - or booster - is said to be essential to the vaccine’s effectiveness. However,… more

Kansas to increase testing, detect COVID-19 strains

The state of Kansas plans to increase genetic testing of COVID-19 positive patients to identify strains of the virus. Kansas currently tests around 1 percent of COVID-19 patients with genetic testing, according to Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health… more

Blue KC makes investment, takes minority stake in Connecticut performance management company

Nearly a year after announcing their partnership, Blue KC has taken a minority stake in Connecticut health care performance management company, Cedar Gate Technologies. The partnership announcement revealed in January 2020 was made to increase the insurer’s analytical capabilities and its… more

Isolation expected to continue for nursing home residents

Tens of thousands of workers and residents at Kansas long-term care facilities will get vaccinated over the next three months. But families aching to visit after such a long separation may not have easy access to their loved ones for… more