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KANCARE
Southern Exposure
Feds reject state’s plan for disabled ——
National center poses demands, questions in regard to Brownback’s health proposal
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Visitation guidelines for LMH tightened
By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com
Federal health care officials on Friday put the brakes on Gov. Sam Brownback’s proposed Jan. 1 expansion of KanCare that would have included long-term services for those with developmental disabilities. The Brownback administration said it hoped to reach an agreement with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services by Feb. 1. But in a three-page letter to state officials, CMS directs the state to make changes in its current operations, poses numerous questions, requests further information and Brownback doesn’t mention a potential switch on Feb. 1. The delay was cheered by advocates for those with disabilities who had opposed the plan. Rocky Nichols, executive director of the Disability Rights Center of Kansas, said he was pleased that CMS listened to stakeholders “about the serious problems with KanCare.” He said KanCare had been plagued by the lack of proper notice regarding service reductions and appeal rights. Under KanCare, the state contracts with three private insurance companies to administer Medicaid services for nearly 400,000 poor and disabled Kansans. KanCare has been handling medical services since January for those with developmental disabilities. The Brownback administration also wants to add to KanCare the home- and community-based services for the Please see KANCARE, page 2A
Flu hits city hard By Caitlin Doornbos cvdoornbos@ljworld.com
Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photo
DANIEL ANDREW, LEFT, AND GRACE DENNING are two of about a dozen Alaska Natives attending Haskell Indian Nations University. Both students hope to return to Alaska after college and work in jobs that will help members of their tribes. Andrew, 23, of Kasigluk, is a member of the Yupik tribe. Denning, 21, is from Alaska’s southeast panhandle and a member of the Tlingit tribe.
Alaska Natives weather unfamiliar territory to seek degrees at Haskell By Sara Shepherd sshepherd@ljworld.com
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ince he was old enough to carry a gun — in his remote Alaskan village, that’s about 8 — Daniel Andrew has helped his family hunt seal, caribou and moose to eat. Beaver trapping, berry picking and egg hunting also are part of life in a place where groceries, at times, are a
bush plane ride or an ice road drive away. Outside Grace Denning’s home are views of deep green forests marching down mountainsides to the edge of the ocean. The air is always cool and fresh. Moving to Lawrence? It’s been an adjustment. For Andrew and Denning, it’s probably a temporary one. Two of about a dozen Alaska Natives
enrolled at Haskell Indian Nations University, both hope to use the education they get here to help their villages back home. Alaska is home to the farthest outpost of students eligible to attend Haskell, as Hawaiians are not federally recognized Indian tribes, Haskell spokesman Stephen Prue said. He said a faster-paced lifestyle, hot
With 95 cases of influenza seen at Lawrence Memorial Hospital alone over the last 12 days, it’s safe to say the flu bug has arrived in Lawrence — and this time, it’s biting harder than usual. Physician Sabrina Prewett, chief of emergency medicine at LMH, said the flu bug’s prevalence fluctuated each year, but this flu season it was comparativeHEALTH ly higher. “Every five or six years the virulence is higher,” Prewett said, “and this year seems to be coming on very rapidly and spreading more rapidly.” Prewett said the increase in the flu’s prevalence has caused officials to tighten the hospital’s visitation guidelines. LMH visitors who have not received a flu shot are asked to wear a mask and Please see FLU, page 2A
Tips for avoiding flu
Get vaccinated.
Cover your nose
and mouth when coughing or sneezing.
Wash your hands frequently.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
Avoid contact with sick people.
Please see ALASKA, page 2A
Court of appeals limits the power of Kansas ‘water czar’ “
By Peter Hancock
phancock@ljworld.com
TOPEKA — The state’s top water regulator does not have power to reduce a landowner’s water rights once a permit has been issued, the Kansas Court of Appeals ruled last week in a decision that could limit the state’s ability to conserve water
resources in the dwindling Ogallala Aquifer. However, the court said, the chief engineer of the Division of Water Resources — sometimes known as the state “water czar” because of his near-unilateral authority to approve or deny water permits — may require farm irrigators to install expensive metering equipment on their wells to
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— Rep. Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence
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It will be interesting to see if further lawsuits occur because the chief engineer has for years restricted junior water rights during periods of low stream flow when senior rights were impacted adversely.”
Please see WATER, page 2A
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ensure compliance with the terms of a permit. “It will be interesting to see if further lawsuits occur because the chief engineer has for years restricted junior water rights during periods of low stream flow when senior rights were impacted adversely,” Rep. Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence, said
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Drug testing to start Kansas is set to begin a drug testing program for some welfare recipients, similar to one in Missouri that has proven costly. Page 3A
Vol.155/No.362 26 pages