Health

The clock is ticking for the 380,000 Kansans whose health insurance comes through the Medicaid program now known as KanCare.

The KanCare program assigned each member to one of three private companies administering the benefits as of the first of the year. Members who prefer to switch to a different company have to do so no later than this Thursday.

At a recent educational meeting in Hays, KDHE policy and program analyst Effie Swanson said one reason to switch might be if your doctor is not signed up with your health plan’s network.

According to a report issued Friday by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment there were 7,457 abortions reported in 2012, which is 428 fewer than were reported in 2011.

The preliminary report, Abortions in Kansas 2012, is an analysis of data collected by the KDHE Bureau of Epidemiology and Public Health Informatics.

The latest Kansas County Health Rankings have been released and Johnson and Riley counties have the healthiest residents in Kansas again this year.

Wyandotte County and a cluster of counties in southeast Kansas remain among the least healthy. 

Sedgwick County came in at 72 out of 102 counties ranked.

The state House has given final approval to a bill that restricts funding, access to schools, and further regulates abortion providers.

House bill 2253 passed on a 92-31 vote Wednesday and now heads to the Senate. Republican leaders there are promising their chamber will now consider the bill quickly.