Elana Gordon

Missouri's Medicaid Director leaves

Elana Gordon — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:31:06 +0000

The director of Missouri’s Medicaid program, Dr. Ian McCaslin, has left.

Bill expands opportunities for physician assistants in Missouri

Elana Gordon — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:29:09 +0000

Physicians Assistants, or PAs, may soon have more opportunities to practice in Missouri. A bill headed to the Governor’s desk would provide more flexibility in how and where they provide care.Physicians Assistants are trained health workers who practice medicine under the supervision of a doctor. Their training is shorter than that of a doctor, but they do exams, prescribe drugs and diagnose and treat illnesses.

Addressing death through a greeting card

Elana Gordon — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 22:45:48 +0000

When Regina Holliday’s husband, Frederick Allen Holliday II, went to the hospital in 2009, he was already at the end stages of kidney cancer.

Federal judge makes contraceptives mandate ruling

Elana Gordon — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 22:08:38 +0000

A federal judge has struck down a Missouri law that directly challenges the so-called contraceptive mandate under the federal health law.

Got A Health Care Puzzle? There Should Be An App!

Elana Gordon — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 22:41:00 +0000

Kansas City, Mo., is looking to boost its health-tech cred.

So the city that's home to Cerner Corp. and other health information firms seemed a natural to host something called the Hackovate Health Innovation Competition.

A mashup of innovation and old-school hacking (though none of the participants was bent on doing harm, we're assured), the goal of the competition was to improve the nation's health system and help people navigate the complexities of the Affordable Care Act.

Oh, there was a catch.

Will Missouri Adopt A Prescription Drug Monitoring Program?

Elana Gordon — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 15:06:33 +0000

Efforts to establish a prescription drug monitoring program in Missouri are making a comeback this year. But there’s a twist: the main opponent of establishing such a program is now sponsoring legislation.

“I think it’s a severe intrusion of our liberty to have the government create a database that is accessible by thousands of people, if not tens of thousands of people, who would then have access to sensitive private information,” said Republican Senator Rob Schaaf, a physician in St. Joseph, Mo.

Hospital Bids Bye-Bye To Big Macs, Others May Follow Suit

Elana Gordon — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 14:51:00 +0000

The McDonald's at the Truman Medical Centers' main campus in Kansas City, Mo., has closed, ending an epic, two-decade stint inside the hospital and making it the fifth health facility in the past few years to give the Big Mac the boot.

Earlier this year, hospital CEO John Bluford told The Salt that the presence of the McDonald's — located just feet from a revamped cafeteria to

Missouri, Kansas Reject Health Exchanges

Elana Gordon — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 09:47:00 +0000

Immediately after last week's election, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon announced the state would not be setting up its own health insurance exchange. Next door in Kansas, Gov. Sam Brownback announced that Kansas will have no involvement in running a state exchange either. The moves open the door for increased federal involvement in health care in staunchly Republican territory.

Federal government will step in to create Missouri's health exchange

Elana Gordon — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 13:41:43 +0000

The federal government will set up and manage a health exchange in Missouri. An exchange is an online marketplace where individuals and small businesses will soon shop for health plans. The Affordable Care Act, or obamacare, requires that all states have exchanges up and running by 2014. States have until next week to indicate whether they will run one or not.

Embracing healthy food: First steps

Elana Gordon — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 00:22:18 +0000

In recent years, there has been a concerted push at the local and national levels to make healthy food more widely available, particularly in low-income areas. This is one focus of Food Day, which food groups and advocates celebrated across the U.S Wednesday. But while programs and systems are gradually putting fresh food front and center, changing eating habits can be even more complicated.