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New laws will force patients to report more personal information to officials, create a new felony and direct more money to anti-abortion groups.
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A state report found that 20 children under 5 died of fentanyl or in combination with other substances. It found that Children's Division investigators, who are tasked with following up on claims of abuse and neglect, “lacked essential procedures, missed warning signs and left vulnerable children at risk.”
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Opioid settlement payouts will be made to thousands of communities across the country over 18 years. Payouts in the Kansas City metropolitan area so far have ranged from $2.4 million to Kansas City, Missouri, to Kansas City to $4,500 to Westwood, Kansas.
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Representatives from Illinois, Kansas and Missouri are part of the caucus behind a package of bills that would promote healthy outcomes for Black mothers, who die from pregnancy-related causes at far higher rates than women of other races.
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There are thousands of different wild mushrooms in Kansas and Missouri, but the morel stands alone when it comes to popularity. It’s a healthy, tasty snack that offers a chance to disconnect from the day-to-day.
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An abortion rights group has raised millions of dollars and recruited a large number of volunteers for an amendment to legalize abortion up to fetal viability. But unless Missouri's Secretary of State uses an unusual procedure to speed up counting petition signatures, it won't make it on the August primary ballot.
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According to the Missouri Department of Transportation, motorcycle fatalities have increased 47% since 2020. Last year was Missouri's deadliest on record, with 174 motorcycle deaths.
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Missouri banned gender-affirming health care for minors, and Kansas could follow suit this spring. So families are forced to move to other states or travel hundreds of miles, sometimes with the help of a growing network of groups determined to make the care available.
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Missouri Democrats filibustered for more than 11 hours to try and block the bill, which they say will hurt low-income and disabled patients. The legislation would make it financially difficult for Planned Parenthood clinics in the state — which do not provide abortions — to provide health services for Medicaid recipients.
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Lobbyists and legislators have been pushing for years to eliminate copays for supplemental and diagnostic breast cancer screening, which other Midwest states have already done. Advocates say they create cost barriers that can lead to late diagnosis.
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Missouri was one of only four states, along with Georgia, Iowa and Texas, that saw an increase in infant mortality between 2021 and 2022, according to federal data. And Black women are dying at much higher rates than their white counterparts.
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Delta-8 THC products — including a large variety of drinks that are popular at bars and available at gas stations throughout the state — can be sold in Missouri stores because they are made from hemp, which is federally legal.
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Since 2017, the percentage of Missouri's kindergarten-age children who have received the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine has dropped from 95% to around 90%, according to state health officials.
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A Republican-backed bill would block Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood. Health care providers fear it will harm patients’ access to critical care.