Health Insurance

Health officials in Dodge City are getting ready for the fourth annual Victory Electric Health Fair. The event is expected to draw as many as 1,500 to 2,000 people. It will feature 50 doctors along with other health professionals and vendors. The event will offer free services like skin cancer screenings, weight management consulting, oral cancer screening, blood pressure checks, vision checks, pap smear/pelvic exams, hearing test, foot inspections, car seat inspection and blood sugar checks.

When President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law, nobody could predict the full impact.  Many of the rules are still being written.  But taxpayers in Hutchinson are starting to get a better idea. "The people voted him in," taxpayer Doug Henderson says.  "He came up with this plan. They went along with it. " Hutchinson School District Superintendent Shelly Kiblinger says Obamacare will require the the district to provide health insurance for 328 more of its employees.  That means it'll have to come up with another $1.5 million--most likely by raising property taxes.

By Michael Schwanke (WICHITA, Kan.) Like thousands of Kansas parents, Harold Stultz, depends on the state program Healthwave to provide insurance for his children. "I just couldn't believe the state would cut a program for Kansas kids," says Stultz. Stultz didn't know there were problems with his application until his 12-year-old son hurt his knee while wrestling. "They [the state] said they had everything they need, but due to the economy and cutbacks they couldn't process the applications.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius cultivates an image as a bipartisan problem-solver, but her ambitions on health care issues have often been frustrated by the Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature. The Democratic governor's record on health care is getting attention because she's viewed in Washington as a leading candidate for Health and Human Services Secretary. Sebelius' backers - and even some opponents - believe any governor's opportunities to make changes are limited, particularly because most states, including Kansas, face recession-related budget problems.

The U.S. Supreme Courthas upheld the heart of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul -- ruling in favor of the requirement that most Americans can be required to have health insurance, or else pay a penalty.     The decision means the historic overhaul will continue to take effect over the next several years, affecting the way countless Americans receive and pay for their personal medical care.     The court found problems with the law's expansion of Medicaid.

The strike at Bombardier is causing traffic headaches for drivers.  One woman spent four and a half hours in her car waiting to get into work at Bombardier. Click to See Photos from Picket Line She waited because the machinists on strike were stopping every car entering the facility. They would spend 30-40 seconds with each car causing traffic to back up for miles. After awhile, police asked they limit it to ten seconds to avoid major delays.  The union members agreed.

Most of us don't go to the doctor because we enjoy it.  So, when more a thousand people come on a Saturday morning to be poked and screened for diseases, they clearly feel a need. Last year Promise Regional Medical Center's Health and Wellness Expo at the State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson likely saved Betty Webster's life.  A dermatologist there diagnosed the melanoma on her face before it became terminal. Skin cancer is one of many illnesses that get diagnosed at the one-day event in which doctors work free of charge.  For some people it's the only way they can see a doctor.

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the heart of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul -- ruling in favor of the requirement that most Americans can be required to have health insurance, or else pay a penalty.    The decision means the historic overhaul will continue to take effect over the next several years, affecting the way countless Americans receive and pay for their personal medical care.    The court found problems with the law's expansion of Medicaid.

A letter from Newman University to the White House. "I don't know if he's going to read it or not,” University President Noreen Carrocci said. Carrocci sent her first letter ever to a U.S. president Monday. She's upset over the Obama administration's policy requiring church-affiliated employers to provide employees with contraceptives, the morning-after pill, and sterilization. "We do not provide that in our health insurance,” Carrocci said. That's because those services go against Catholic beliefs.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius stepped around potential land mines on abortion and her own tax errors Thursday as she testified at a hearing en route to her expected confirmation as health and human services secretary. Sebelius was not asked any questions about abortion, an issue that's caused loud complaints from conservative groups angered about her vetoes of some abortion restrictions and the presence of a prominent abortion doctor at a reception at the governor's residence.