Health Care

Salina-based Saint Francis Community Services was awarded a $75,000 grant this past year from the Walmart Foundation to expand health care services to children throughout a 53-county area in Central and Western Kansas. The award helped expand Saint Francis' mental health coverage in the area with the addition of a new clinical therapist, as well as provide funding for a traveling Registered Nurse. The health care providers, who travel throughout the area to see families, offer physical, mental, and dental health assessments for children, birth to 18, who live in rural areas and might not have access to care.

Today, one in four American families cares for an older relative, friend, or neighbor.  An estimated 25 to 40 percent of women care for both their older relatives and their children.  Half of all caregivers also work outside the home.  It is no wonder then that caregivers often need help.  Depending on your work, living, and family arrangements, there are a number of things you can do to make caregiving easier. Ways to Make Caregiving Easier 1) Work Options and On-the-Job Training Programs.

(WICHITA, Kan.) You've heard a lot of things about the health care reform law. But have you heard about a lot of things in the law? One is a tax that could bring $20 billion to the US government by 2023. You won't be taxed, but you might still pay it. When you think of your health, television screens and robotics probably don't jump to mind. But at the Via Christi Transforum Health Expo, technology is at the core of health care. "Right now, everybody wants the work done soon and they want to be able to get back to their life," said Brian Swallow of Via Christi Surgical Services.

A new CBS News poll taken before the health care reform bill passed showed that only 42 percent of Americans understood the legislation. Some say that's understandable, considering the document itself is almost three-thousand pages. It's different for those in the health care profession. Keeping up with the year-long debate has been important to Beverly White. As President of the Center for Health and Wellness, health care reform means changes for her patients, most of whom are uninsured.

By CBS News (WASHINGTON) Cost: $940 billion over ten years. Deficit: Would reduce the deficit by $143 billion over the first ten years. That is an updated CBO estimate. Their first preliminary estimate said it would reduce the deficit by $130 billion over ten years. Would reduce the deficit by $1.2 billion dollars in the second ten years. Read more on the CBO Report Coverage: Would expand coverage to 32 million Americans who are currently uninsured.

(WICHITA, Kan.) It's another busy day for Dr. Robin Walker. On Monday, he was the only doctor on GraceMed's floor.  Some days, the clinic sees 85 people a day. If the health care reform bill becomes law, he expects to see more people and more busy days ahead. "Even if all the patients, all the people in America have health insurance, we're still going to have a population to meet. " Currently, the clinic is one of the few places in Wichita which sees people who don't have insurance.

CHICAGO (AP) - A spate of recent reports suggest that when it comes to health care, too many Americans are being over-treated. Experts say there are many reasons, including doctors practicing defensive medicine, and patients used to medical technology who demand extensive tests and treatments. New evidence and guidelines are recommending a step back, and more thorough doctor-patient conversations about risks and benefits. A medical journal editorial this week cited President Barack Obama's recent checkup as an example of more care not necessarily being better care.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A health care executive from Topeka is considering running as a Democrat in Kansas' 2nd Congressional District. He is Kyle Kessler, a vice president for KVC Behavioral Healthcare. Kessler also is a former deputy secretary of the Kansas Department and Social and Rehabilitation Services and a former analyst with the State Budget Division. He says he's seriously considering the race and is talking to other people about it. He was making the rounds at Kansas Democrats' annual Washington Days convention, which ends Saturday.

By Michael Schwanke and Chris Durden (WICHITA, Kan.) The Senate is on track to pass health care reform by Christmas. Democrats have enough votes to overcome Republican objections. Senators cast the first of several procedural votes Monday morning, with a final vote on December 24th. Republicans are denouncing last-minute deals made to win votes. In order to get the support of a Nebraska's Ben Nelson, other states will pay it's share of Medicaid expansion. Vermont will get new community health centers, while Michigan gets tax exemptions for non-profit insurers.

Press Release Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) "Speaker Pelosi just delivered an early Christmas gift to President Obama tonight at a cost of $1.2 trillion to taxpayers. The Democrat’s vote to nationalize our healthcare system and send 5.5 million more Americans to the unemployment office comes during a time when more than 10 percent of workers are looking for jobs. Tonight Republicans again gave Democrats yet another opportunity to reject the nationalization of our healthcare system envisioned by the president and instead choose a market-based plan that lowers healthcare costs, allows Americans who like their healthcare coverage to keep it, and puts patients first by ensuring medical decisions are made by patients and their doctors instead of a government worker in the Obama administration.