Health Care
COVID liability advances in Missouri Senate, expands to shield religious orgs
Churches would be immune from most lawsuits alleging COVID was contracted on their premises after an exemption was carved out for religious organizations during the Senate’s first filibuster of the session Tuesday over liability protections for businesses and healthcare providers. After nearly 15 hours of debate and negotiations behind the scenes, legislation sponsored by Sen. […]
Missouri Republican legislator indicted for fraud, illegal prescriptions
A freshman lawmaker from southwest Missouri was charged Monday in a 20-count federal indictment alleging she sold fake stem-cell treatments and illegally prescribed narcotics at her medical practice in Springfield. State Rep. Tricia Derges, R-Nixa, appeared Monday before Magistrate Judge David P. Rush, who released her without bail as she awaits a trial date. The […]
If Missouri’s providers aren’t using vaccine promptly, their future shipments may decrease
The same day the state launched a new dashboard detailing the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses distributed throughout Missouri, state officials made it clear that local providers must move more quickly to administer doses and report data — or risk seeing future shipments decrease. And that warning comes from the governor himself. “The comment that […]
Missouri publishes plan for covering expanded Medicaid enrollment
Missouri will enroll most adults who apply for expanded Medicaid services in a managed care plan, with an option to purchase employer-provided coverage if it makes financial sense. That’s just two of the items in a draft plan for the program that begins July 1 posted online Thursday for public comment. The comment period ends […]
Missouri health director says he’ll testify to lawmakers on vaccine rollout next week
Democratic lawmakers expressed frustration this week when two key figures leading Missouri’s vaccine distribution abruptly canceled their scheduled testimony before a House committee Wednesday evening. However, Randall Williams, the director of the Department of Health and Senior Services, said the time of the hearing was changed without checking with him — and that he offered […]
Missouri governor says unemployment benefits paid in error must be returned
Missourians who were mistakenly paid unemployment benefits by the state should be required to pay that money back, Gov. Mike Parson said Thursday. The Missouri Department of Labor told St. Louis Public Radio last week that the state overpaid roughly $96 million in unemployment benefits between January and September last year. The errors were driven […]
Feds try to ease vaccine backlog by enlisting retired nurses and doctors
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced a move Wednesday to bolster the number of people who can administer COVID-19 vaccines by making it easier for retired doctors and nurses to give those shots. The federal government also will allow current doctors and nurses to administer vaccines in states other than where they are licensed. The […]
Missouri legislators, staff receive COVID vaccine intended for other state employees
Some Missouri state lawmakers received the initial doses of COVID vaccine Wednesday at an event that was intended for employees from Missouri’s Department of Public Safety and Department of Transportation. Ahead of Gov. Mike Parson’s State of the State speech, Democratic and Republican members of the House and Senate were seen entering and leaving the […]
Parson defends Missouri COVID response, lays out agenda in State of the State address
Despite a COVID-19 outbreak scuttling his plans to address a joint session of the Missouri General Assembly, Gov. Mike Parson laid out his policy priorities and defended his administration’s response to the ongoing pandemic during his annual State of the State address on Wednesday. Instead of delivering his speech in the House, Parson was forced […]
Black Missourians have only received 4% of the COVID vaccines administered so far
Black residents in Missouri have received roughly 4 percent of the total COVID vaccines administered, despite making up 11 percent of the population, according to a new dashboard the state launched Tuesday. The dashboard sheds light for the first time on detailed demographic data and a county-by-county breakdown of where COVID vaccines have been given […]
Biden administration unveils boost to state COVID-19 vaccine shipments
WASHINGTON — Amid frustrations at the slow pace of the national COVID-19 vaccination effort, President Joe Biden says his administration is boosting the number of doses sent to states each week and will be giving state officials more certainty on the number of doses they can expect in future shipments. Starting next week, a minimum of […]
Amid legislative COVID outbreak, Missouri Gov. Parson set to deliver annual address
When Gov. Mike Parson delivers his annual State of the State address to a joint session of the Missouri General Assembly on Wednesday afternoon, it will look slightly different than usual. Because of COVID-19, the 34 members of the Senate, along with the state Supreme Court judges, will be seated in the upper gallery of […]