Kansas Medicaid Companies Report Financial Losses
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A state agency says the three private insurance companies that manage the Kansas Medicaid program lost a combined $110 million in the first year of operating the program. The Wichita Eagle reports a Kansas Department of Health and Environment official says whether the three companies make money is not a concern, and initial losses were expected when the KanCare system was launched in 2013. However, the losses raised the concerns of a Wichita legislator who serves on a KanCare oversight panel. Rep. Jim Ward says it would be disruptive if the companies continue to lose money and decided to walk away from the contracts. The three companies are contracted to manage the state's health care program for three years.
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Leavenworth Police: Death at Hotel a Homicide
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — Leavenworth police say the death of a man at a hotel is being investigated as a homicide. Police say Robert Lynch Junior of Leavenworth was found dead Thursday at a Days Inn. Leavenworth deputy chief Dan Nicodemus said Lynch's injuries were suspicious but he did not release information on the types of injuries. He also said it was unclear how long Lynch had been dead. The Leavenworth Times reports Lynch had been staying at the hotel for several days. His truck was found abandoned in Leavenworth Friday afternoon. Nicodemus says investigators do not have any suspects.
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Roth Withdraws From 1st District Race
ELLINWOOD, Kan. (AP) — Former state Representative Kent Roth of Ellinwood has withdrawn from the GOP primary race in the 1st Congressional District of western and central Kansas. Roth, an Ellinwood attorney, said Friday he plans to support Alan LaPolice, a Clyde farmer and educator, in the GOP primary against incumbent Representative Tim Huelskamp. The Hutchinson News reports Roth says his goal is to help defeat Huelskamp and he did not want to risk splitting the opposition vote and allowing Huelskamp to advance to the general election with less than 50 percent of the vote. Roth served six years in the Kansas Legislature during the 1970s and 1980s. Huelskamp, of Fowler, is seeking a third, two-year term against LaPolice and Democratic candidates Jim Sherow, a Kansas State University history professor and former Manhattan mayor, and Bryan Whitney, a 2013 graduate of Wichita State University from Syracuse.
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Watson Close to Lead in Senior PGA Championship
BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (KPR) — Kansas resident Tom Watson is four shots off the lead heading into the final round of the Senior PGA Championship in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Watson shot a one-over-par 72 in the third round yesterday (SAT) The third round leader is Scotsman Colin Montgomery. At age 64, Watson is bidding to set the record as the oldest winner of the Senior PGA Championship.