KANSAS INSIDER, eNewsletter, Jan. 15, 2021

 

FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2021 A dose of history Protection, Kansas — chosen during the Eisenhower years because of what its name might symbolize in a public health campaign — was championed for how virtually everyone in town bore their arms for shots of the polio vaccine in 1957. Today, amid a killer pandemic, the southwest Kansas town of about 500 people represents a different attitude. The county has ditched the governor’s mask orders. And, at times, the area has been a hotspot of COVID-19 infections and deaths. Some people there see conspiracies in vaccines. Jim McLean of the Kansas News Service explored the history and the present. "I'm pretty savvy and I was like, 'Jesus, this is hard.'" — Niall Brennan, CEO of the Health Care Cost Institute, on making sense of newly published hospital prices. Blinded with transparency The Trump administration has forced hospitals to publish what they charge for different services. It reveals how the cost of childbirth or a skin biopsy or thousands of things can vary wildly. You might save money paying cash, or get charged three times more on one insurance plan versus another. The price lists are complicated, beyond the ability of most people to use for comparison shopping. But big employers and others will now be able to analyze the prices and bargain for better rates. Celia Llopis-Jepsen of the Kansas News Service explains. Gov. Hopeful The State of the State speech from Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly this week mourned the loss of 3,000-plus Kansans to COVID-19 and pined for cooperation from the conservative Republicans who run the Legislature. But she’s unlikely to get through Medicaid expansion or maybe even her proposal to tax more online sales — a move she says could help Kansas retailers. Stephen Koranda of the Kansas News Service breaks down the annual address. Trump Country The 45th president of the United States got impeached this week. For the second time. One member of the Kansas delegation to the U.S. House, a Democrat, cast a vote to put Donald Trump on trial in the Senate. All the Republicans voted against impeachment. Aviva Okeson-Haberman of KCUR has the story. COVID Crush Hospitals are so overwhelmed in parts of Kansas that ambulances are getting turned away. Kaiser Health News shares some unsettling stories. Truth and killing Coyote hunters like to compete for prize money by challenging each other to weekend contests. The team that bags the most kills wins. But some hunters have been known to cheat by saving up carcasses ahead of contests. So last weekend in Kismet, Kansas, a competition lined up lie detector tests to keep things honest. David Condos of the Kansas News Service explains more about the world of competitive coyote hunting. Enjoying The Insider? Share with a friend. Have comments or questions for the editor? Let us know what you think. Not an Insider subscriber? Sign up now. Subscribe