Month: October 2017

Hinkle, Wells newest inductees into KCKCC Athletic Hall of Fame

Mike Hinkle (Photo from KCKCC)

Greg Wells (Photo from KCKCC)

Baseball, basketball stars took different routes to KCKCC; induction ceremonies Nov. 10

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

Two of the finest athletes to ever don uniforms at Kansas City Kansas Community College are the newest members of the college’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

Mike Hinkle, who helped lead the Blue Devil baseball team to an all-time record 53 wins in 1985, and Greg Wells, who led the Jayhawk Basketball Conference in scoring in 2004, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in ceremonies during the annual Keith Lindsey Basketball Classic Friday, Nov. 10.

Both are Kansas City, Kansas, natives and both enjoyed success professionally in their sports after departing KCKCC. However, they took decided different routes to the Hall of Fame.

Hinkle, who played baseball, football, basketball and tennis at Sumner Academy of Arts and Science, played every game in his two years at KCKCC. When he wasn’t playing centerfield, he was pitching. As a freshman, Hinkle batted .319 with five home runs and nine doubles. On the mound, he was 6-2 with a 2.66 earned run average. In 58 innings, he struck out 54.

Hinkle was 10-2 with an ERA of just over 3.0 in a 53-13 campaign that saw the Blue Devils come up just short of a World Series berth, losing to Connor State in a three-state district playoff final. Hinkle took a .369 batting average with nine home runs and 44 RBI into the playoffs.

For his performance on the field and in the classroom (3.8 GPA with straight A’s his next to last semester), Hinkle was named the Kansas Community College Athlete of the Year, the first and only KCKCC athlete to receive the honor. He also received the KCKCC Presidential Outstanding Athlete Award which was based on athletic ability, scholastic achievements, leadership qualities and overall personal conduct.

Hinkle finished his collegiate career at Kansas State, earning first team All-Big Eight and second team Academic All-America honors as a senior. Drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals, he spent six years in the Cardinals organization including three seasons in Triple A. He also played two stints in Italy. For the last 18 years, he has worked for American Century Investments as a compliance consultant.

Wells, on the other hand, never played in an organized game of basketball before coming to KCKCC. Although not directly involved in a robbery, he was arrested as an accessary and served eight years in Kansas correctional facilities. He came out of prison determined to get an education through his basketball skills honed behind bars.

Despite his lack of experience, he was a starter by mid-season of his freshman year. Scoring in double figures in 8 of his last 10 games, he was fifth in scoring (8.3), third in rebounding (4.4) and first in field goal shooting percentage (.564).

By his sophomore season, he was dominating the Jayhawk Conference, running away with the scoring title with 22.2 points a game that was sixth most in the nation. He also led in rebounds (8.1) and shooting (.571) and more important, had a 3.4 grade point average.

Halfway through his first season at Rockhurst, Wells got an opportunity too good to pass up, a pro contract with the Harlem Rockets, and for the next seven years he would travel the U.S., Far East and elsewhere, playing 180 games in 180 cities a year. Although just 6-foot-2, Wells was known as “The Finisher” because of his spectacular dunking abilities.

Retired after being injured in an auto accident in 2012, Wells now lives in Richmond, Va., where he works with promising young basketball players seeking to play at the college level.

Kansas Medicaid officials unveil KanCare renewal plan to mixed reviews

by Jim McLean, Kansas News Service

State Medicaid officials on Friday formally started the process of renewing KanCare, the privatized Medicaid program launched by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback in 2013.

The two state agencies that oversee the private contractors that manage the program released a draft of the plan they intend to submit for federal approval after a public comment period that runs through November.

Susan Mosier, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the state’s primary Medicaid agency, said changes proposed in “KanCare 2.0” are aimed at improving the health of approximately 425,000 low-income, disabled or elderly Kansans enrolled in the program and addressing the administrative and service delivery problems that have plagued it since its launch.

“As we move to KanCare 2.0, we’re really moving from a plan of care to a plan of service,” Mosier said.

That means shifting beyond a focus on medical care to also addressing the social factors that influence the health of individuals and populations, she said. Social determinants of health include education, employment, housing and behaviors.

“We’re talking about really engaging with the individuals we serve and identifying with that individual what is their vision for their own good life,” Mosier said.

The draft plan posted Friday to the KDHE website said the state anticipates “continued savings under the KanCare program” but didn’t specify how much. A specific savings estimate will be included in a final draft submitted to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Earlier in the week, Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer, the primary architect of KanCare, said it had reduced projected increases in Medicaid spending by $1.4 billion over the past five years. He also said that a stakeholder group he formed to address problems in the current program was making progress.

Even so, advocates for KanCare recipients expressed doubts about the capacity of the Brownback administration to deliver the promised improvements in KanCare 2.0.

“I think the goals and the vision are great,” said Sheldon Weisgrau of the Health Reform Resource Project. “But there has really been no evidence in the first five years of KanCare that they are capable of doing the things they say they want to do.”

To buttress his case, Weisgrau said it remains to be seen whether the administration has remedied problems that prompted federal officials to initially deny the state’s request for a one-year extension of the current program to allow more time for the development and implementation of KanCare 2.0.

Federal officials approved the extension earlier this month based on the state’s promise to implement a corrective action plan.

In addition to questioning the administration’s ability to implement KanCare 2.0, advocates are objecting to a proposed change that would require approximately 12,000 non-disabled recipients to work or participate in job training to maintain their benefits. Federal officials have historically rejected such work requirements, but several states are now pursuing them in the belief that the Trump administration will approve them.

The intention of work requirement is “to promote the highest level of member independence,” according the KanCare 2.0 plan.

Non-disabled adults in families receiving cash assistance under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, program already must comply with the requirement.

Work requirements are “legally questionable,” said David Jordan, director of the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, a nonprofit lobbying organization primary focused on expanding KanCare eligibility.

“It will reduce access to care,” Jordan said.

Pregnant women, individuals with physical or intellectual disabilities, and low-income parents with children under the age of 6 would be exempt from the requirement.

Jim McLean is managing director of the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio covering health, education and politics. You can reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks. Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to kcur.org.

See more at http://kcur.org/post/kansas-medicaid-officials-unveil-kancare-renewal-plan-mixed-reviews.