Category: Health

Mobile mammograms to be offered Saturday

The Unified Government Public Health Department and Diagnostic Imaging Centers, P.A., will bring a mobile mammogram unit to the Bonner Springs City Library to provide services to women ages 40 and over from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, at 201 N. Nettleton, Bonner Springs.

Those under 40 may be eligible (ask the insurance provider) and those without insurance may also be eligible. Please bring an insurance card if you have one.

Clinical breast exams will be done on site. Walk-ins are welcome. Appointments for cervical exams will also be available.

Questions may be directed to Betty Criss at 816-401-3209 or Crystal Doran at 913-742-9059. For more information see https://www.bonnerlibrary.org/.

Aetna errors kicked 42 people off Medicaid in Kansas, leaving the state to clean up

by Celia Llopis-Jepsen, Kansas News Service

Topeka, Kansas — Dozens of primarily elderly or disabled Kansans lost their Medicaid coverage because of errors made by Aetna. Staff at the state health department discovered the problem, restored their insurance and stopped further cancellations.

Months later, state workers are still double-checking the work of Aetna Better Health — one of the three companies that helps run the state’s privatized Medicaid system — while Aetna puts together a permanent fix.

It’s one of the “top issues” on a list of problems that Aetna must correct to comply with its state contract, officials at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said in an email.

Aetna didn’t grant an interview, but provided a brief statement, saying it remains “dedicated to serving KanCare members” and is collaborating with the health agency “to address all issues related to beneficiary eligibility.”

Kansas warned Aetna in July that it risked losing its state contract after months of complaints from health care providers that were struggling to collect timely payments and hitting other walls with Aetna.

Aetna apologized, replaced its top leadership for the Kansas Medicaid program and promised better performance.

Aetna insures about 100,000 people under the state’s KanCare Medicaid program.

And state officials said they meet with the company weekly to gauge progress.

The 42 people who got letters dropping them from Medicaid did so because Aetna handled some claims incorrectly, the state said.

That prevented patients from hitting deductible-like spending targets that certain beneficiaries have to reach within six-month windows to keep coverage.

The health department said it found out about the problem in July and reinstated insurance, preventing coverage gaps for patients and delays in payment for doctors and other health care providers.

“They did not need to reapply,” agency officials wrote in an email. “Everything was done internally.”

In recent years, the KanCare application process — itself partly privatized — came with its own headaches for patients and providers alike, including months-long waits.

In its statement, Aetna said it is “working collaboratively with the state to address all issues related to beneficiary eligibility.” That includes auditing claims to check its work.

“We are also regularly communicating with both beneficiaries and health care providers to minimize any potential disruption as we address these issues,” it said.

Celia Llopis-Jepsen reports on consumer health and education for the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter @Celia_LJ or email her at celia (at) kcur (dot) org. The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on the health and well-being of Kansans, their communities and civic life. Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished by news media at no cost with proper attribution and a link to ksnewsservice.org. See more at https://www.kcur.org/post/aetna-errors-kicked-42-people-medicaid-kansas-leaving-state-clean

Olathe school district sues country’s leading e-cigarette maker

by Dan Margolies and Elle Moxley, Kansas News Service

The Olathe School District on Friday voted to authorize a lawsuit against the nation’s leading maker of electronic cigarettes, saying the widespread use by students of vaping devices is endangering their health and disrupting their education.

In a news release issued after it approved the suit, the district said that it “understands the threat to student health and is taking action against the epidemic.”

“The top priority of the Olathe Public Schools is the safety and well-being of its students and staff,” the release states. “Electronic cigarettes and vaping devices pose a significant threat to student health with misleading advertisements targeted toward middle and high school students. It is the district’s responsibility to protect its students.”

The suit, which will name Juul Labs as a defendant, had not been filed as of early Friday afternoon.

A spokesman for Juul, asked to comment on the district’s plan to sue it, said the company was “committed to eliminating combustible cigarettes, the number one cause of preventable death in the world.”

“Our product has always only been intended to be a viable alternative for the one billion current adult smokers in the world,” the spokesman, Ted Kwong, said via email. “We have never marketed to youth and do not want any non-nicotine users to try our products. We have launched an aggressive action plan to combat underage use as it is antithetical to our mission.”

Juul is the dominant e-cigarette manufacturer and distributor in the United States, controlling at least two-thirds of the market. Cigarette giant Altria acquired a 35 percent stake in Juul last year in a deal valued at $12.8 billion.

In its resolution authorizing the lawsuit, the school district cites recent deaths tied to e-cigarettes, including two in Kansas, and says the number of students using vaping devices has risen sharply since 2017.

The district has experienced “serious difficulties” with students using Juul’s devices, disrupting the district’s educational mission and forcing it to divert resources to curb and prevent e-cigarette usage, the resolution states.

More than 800 cases of lung injury linked to e-cigarette use have been reported in 46 states and one U.S. territory, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Twelve deaths have been confirmed in 10 states, including the two in Kansas and one in Missouri.

The Olathe school board had signaled its intention to sue Juul on Thursday, when it issued written statements to media outlets alerting them to the forthcoming resolution. The Olathe School District comprises schools in Olathe, Overland Park and Lenexa with more than 30,000 students.

Juul increasingly has found itself the target of lawsuits filed by individuals claiming it fraudulently concealed its products’ addictive nature, misrepresented their safety and aimed at teens in its marketing campaigns.

At least three such lawsuits have been filed recently by Kansas City area residents and more are expected to be filed soon.

In a lawsuit filed earlier this month, Johnson County resident Isaac Gant claimed that he began vaping as a senior in high school four years ago and is now addicted to nicotine, suffers from respiratory problems, coughing fits and bouts of anxiety, and needs to take frequent breaks at work to satisfy his nicotine cravings.

Gant’s lawsuit accused Juul of adopting the marketing strategies of tobacco companies by glamorizing vaping while downplaying its addictiveness and adverse health effects.

Olathe is at least the second Kansas school district to authorize a lawsuit against e-cigarette manufacturers. Earlier this month, Goddard Public Schools said it planned to sue e-cigarette makers and distributors over the widespread use of e-cigarettes among its students.

Dan Margolies is a senior reporter and editor at KCUR. You can reach him on Twitter @DanMargolies. Elle Moxley covers education for KCUR. You can reach her on Twitter @ellemoxley. 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 https://www.kcur.org/post/fed-vaping-classrooms-olathe-school-district-sues-country-s-leading-e-cigarette-maker