Government health care Archives

May

Medicaid expansion survey in Kansas

Should Kansans accept the results of a public opinion poll when little is known about it? Recently American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network released results of a poll regarding Medicaid expansion in Kansas. What ACS CAN wants us to know is that 82 percent of Kansans favor expansion. But before we accept these results, we need to know that ACS CAN will not release the full results of the survey, as other organizations have done. In particular, last year Kansas Hospital Association conducted a poll on the topic of Medicaid expansion, and it released the complete poll and results.[1. Kansas…

WichitaLiberty.TV: Health care in Kansas and taxes in Sedgwick County

Apr

By Bob Weeks

WichitaLiberty.TV: Health care in Kansas and taxes in Sedgwick County

In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: Bob Weeks and Karl Peterjohn discuss health care in Kansas and taxes in Sedgwick County. View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Episode 146, broadcast April 9, 2017. Shownotes Kansas House voting on Medicaid expansion Kansas Senate voting on Medicaid expansion Expanding Medicaid in Kansas. Expanding Medicaid in Kansas would be costly, undoubtedly more costly than estimated, has an uncertain future, and doesn’t provide very good results for those it covers. Sedgwick County to consider raising debt limit

Kansas House voting on Medicaid expansion

Apr

By Bob Weeks

Kansas House voting on Medicaid expansion

Here's a table of the three votes taken in the Kansas House of Representatives in February and April on HB 2044, titled "Establishing the KanCare bridge to a healthy Kansas program and providing medicaid reimbursement for clubhouse rehabilitation services." Medicaid expansion, in other words. This expansion is a key part of Obamacare, but not all states have not adopted the plan. Vote 3 on April 3 was to override the governor's veto. 84 votes are required for a successful override. If you're interested in contacting your legislators on this issue, click on House Roster and Senate Roster. To find the…

Mar

By Bob Weeks

Kansas House voting on Medicaid expansion

There has been another vote on this bill, and the table has been updated. Click here. Here's a table of the two votes taken in the Kansas House of Representatives in February on HB 2044, titled "Establishing the KanCare bridge to a healthy Kansas program and providing medicaid reimbursement for clubhouse rehabilitation services." Medicaid expansion, in other words. This expansion is a key part of Obamacare, but not all states have not adopted the plan. If you're interested in contacting your legislators on this issue, click on House Roster and Senate Roster. To find the district numbers you live in,…

Mar

By Bob Weeks

Kansas Senate voting on Medicaid expansion

Here's a table of the two votes taken in the Kansas Senate this week on HB 2044, titled "Establishing the KanCare bridge to a healthy Kansas program and providing medicaid reimbursement for clubhouse rehabilitation services." Medicaid expansion, in other words. This expansion is a key part of Obamacare, but not all states have not adopted the plan. Reporting on this issue from The Sentinel is at Senate Advances Medicaid Expansion Proposal. If you're interested in contacting your legislators on this issue, click on House Roster and Senate Roster. To find the district numbers you live in, use Locate Your Polling…

Feb

By Bob Weeks

Expanding Medicaid in Kansas

Expanding Medicaid in Kansas would be costly, undoubtedly more costly than estimated, has an uncertain future, and doesn't provide very good results for those it covers. Providing testimony to the Kansas House Committee on Health and Social Services, Michael Tanner advised legislators, "Medicaid expansion, however, is a risky gamble, that is almost certain to cost more than you are currently budgeting, while providing surprisingly little to the poor in terms of improved access to health care." Tanner is Senior Fellow at Cato Institute. The bill in question is HB 2064, titled "Establishing the KanCare bridge to a healthy Kansas program."…

Sedgwick County Health Department: Services provided

Aug

By Bob Weeks

Sedgwick County Health Department: Services provided

Sedgwick County government trimmed spending on health. What has been the result so far? During last year's Sedgwick County budget hearings, there were warnings that trimming spending on health would decimate the health department's ability to provide services. But after six months, that hasn't been the case. The nearby table shows measures of services provided for the first six months of this year compared to the same period the year before. The source of this data is the Sedgwick County Health Department, with my added column calculating the percent change. For most categories of service, the amount provided has risen…

Inspector General evaluates Obamacare website

Feb

By Bob Weeks

Inspector General evaluates Obamacare website

The HHS Inspector General has released an evaluation of the Obamacare website HealthCare.gov, shedding light on the performance of former Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius. The Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services has released a report titled HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace. An excerpt from the executive summary holds the main points: What We Found The development of HealthCare.gov faced a high risk of failure, given the technical complexity required, the fixed deadline, and a high degree of uncertainty about mission, scope, and funding. Still, we found that HHS and…

Cost of restoring quality of life spending cuts in Sedgwick County: 43 deaths

Aug

By Bob Weeks

Cost of restoring quality of life spending cuts in Sedgwick County: 43 deaths

An analysis of public health spending in Sedgwick County illuminates the consequences of public spending decisions. In particular, those calling for more spending on zoos and arts must consider the lives that could be saved by diverting this spending to public health, according to analysis from Kansas Health Institute. Kansas Health Institute is concerned about proposed reductions in public health spending in Sedgwick County. Sunday it released a fact sheet titled Decreases in Public Health Spending Associated with More Deaths from Preventable Causes, subtitled "Analysis of how proposed public health funding reductions in Sedgwick County could lead to more preventable…

‘Love Gov’ humorous and revealing of government’s nature

Jul

By Bob Weeks

‘Love Gov’ humorous and revealing of government’s nature

A series of short videos from the Independent Institute entertains and teaches lessons at the same time. The Independent Institute has produced a series of humorous and satirical videos to present lessons about the nature of government. The Institute describes the series here: Love Gov depicts an overbearing boyfriend -- Scott “Gov” Govinsky -- who foists his good intentions on a hapless, idealistic college student, Alexis. Each episode follows Alexis's relationship with Gov as his intrusions wreak (comic) havoc on her life, professionally, financially, and socially. Alexis's loyal friend Libby tries to help her see Gov for what he really…