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Fall trial date set for Columbia Planned Parenthood arson suspect

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A September trial has been scheduled for a Columbia man charged with last winter’s arson at a mid-Missouri Planned Parenthood facility.

42-year-old Wesley Brian Kaster is charged in federal court with the February 10 arson at the Columbia Health Center, which is operated by Planned Parenthood Great Plains. He’s charged with one count of maliciously damaging a building, owned by an organization that receives federal financial assistance, by means of fire or an explosive.

U.S. Attorney Timothy Garrison’s spokesman, Don Ledford, tells Missourinet that Kaster’s trial is set for September 23 at the Christopher Bond U.S. Courthouse in Jefferson City.

Federal prosecutors say surveillance video from Planned Parenthood and from neighboring businesses recorded Kaster starting at about 2:30 a.m. on February 10, when he allegedly broke the front door and placed a bucket inside the building that was later found to be filled with gasoline. After a few attempts over the next hour, prosecutors say Kaster ignited a Molotov cocktail-type device inside.

Kaster was arrested on March 2, after federal agents served multiple federal search warrants. The FBI investigated the case.

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Missourians warned of genetic testing scheme

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The State Department of Social Services warns Missourians to be alert to fraud involving marketers offering free genetic testing to Medicare and Medicaid recipients. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General says scammers are offering cheek swabs for genetic testing to get an individual’s Medicare or Medicaid information for identify theft or fraudulent billing purposes. Fraudsters are targeting victims through telemarketing, door-to-door visits and booths at public events or health fairs.

Missourians warned of genetic testing scheme

The Department of Social Services has received reports of fraudulent genetic testing marketers contacting Missouri residents throughout the state. The scam might be a game, like bingo, with prizes or food to get residents at senior housing facilities to participate. Scammers may be in scrubs or white coats to look like health care professionals or researchers and typically ask if the individual has Medicare or Medicaid coverage.

The individual may be asked to do a short family health history questionnaire and told a genetic test can determine if they have or are susceptible to a disease or if prescribed or over-the-counter medications will have a negative impact. If the individual agrees to be tested, the scammer asks for Medicare or Medicaid numbers and uses a cheek swab to take a sample.

If you or someone you know has been solicited for cheek swab for genetic testing or has already provided one, please report it to the Missouri Medicaid Audit & Compliance (MMAC) by email at MMAC.ReportFraud@dss.mo.gov or by phone at (573) 751-3285.

Follow these tips to stay safe:
• Refuse delivery or return a genetic testing kit mailed to you unless your physician ordered it. Record the sender’s name and the date returned.
• Be suspicious of free genetic testing offers and requests for your Medicare or Medicaid number. Your personal information could be used in other fraud schemes.
• Your physician should approve any requests for genetic testing.
• Always keep your Medicare and Medicaid card numbers safe and share only with your physician.
• If you believe that you’ve been a victim of a scam, please call the Missouri Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-392-8222 or submit a complaint online at http://ago.mo.gov. Additionally, claims of Medicaid fraud can be submitted to the Attorney General’s Office by calling (800) 286-3932.
• If you suspect Medicare fraud, contact the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General Hotline by calling 1-800-HHS-TIPS or online.

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Planned Parenthood, ACLU sue Missouri over ‘heartbeat’ bill

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Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, along with law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, are suing the state over a contentious eight-week abortion ban bill. In a complaint filed Tuesday evening, the organizations say Missouri’s heartbeat ban violates Supreme Court precedent that protects access to abortion.

Planned Parenthood, ACLU sue Missouri over ‘heartbeat’ bill

The policy would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, except in medical emergencies. Rape and incest cases are not exceptions.

Under HB 126, physicians who violate the law would face five to fifteen years in prison. It would also forbid doctors from doing abortions if the baby would have Down syndrome or for sex or race-selective abortions. Additionally, the legislation requires both parents to be notified if a minor child wants an abortion.

Some Republicans in the Missouri Legislature have called the legislation the boldest and most comprehensive pro-life bill in the country.

The legislation is set to take effect August 28.

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Federal data says 1.6 billion pain pills pour into Missouri

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Federal Drug Enforcement Administration data says about 1.6 billion prescription pain pills were supplied to Missouri pharmacies from 2006 to 2012.

Federal data says 1.6 billion pain pills flow into Missouri from 2006-2012

The information provided to the Washington Post says St. Louis County leads the state with 218 million pain pills supplied during that time span. Western Missouri’s Jackson County follows with 166 million and Greene County in southwest Missouri with 102 million.

When figuring the per person annual average, the top four counties are in southeast Missouri – Butler, St. Francois, Pemiscot and Dunklin. In Butler County, the data says enough pills are supplied there to give each resident 99 pills per year.

Scott City Rep. Holly Rehder of Scott City, whose district includes southeast Missouri, has filed legislation for seven consecutive years that would require the state to build a prescription drug monitoring program. Missouri is the only state in the country without a statewide system looking for cases of prescription drug misuse.

To view the federal data, click here.

Haahr: Roeber “will forever be remembered for being a champion for Missouri’s students” (AUDIO)

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The Missouri House Speaker describes State Rep. Rebecca Roeber, R-Lee’s Summit, as a dedicated public servant who will be greatly missed.

House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee Chairwoman Rebecca Roeber speaks at the Missouri Capitol on February 19, 2019 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, announced Roeber’s death today. The Speaker notes Roeber suffered serious injuries in a March head-on collision on Highway 50 in west-central Missouri’s Syracuse.

“Had been released from the hospital somewhat recently and we thought she was on the mend,” Haahr says. “She was on a family vacation in Colorado and passed away in the night.”

Roeber, who was first elected in 2014, chaired the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee. She supported legislation that would have allowed charter schools to expand to Missouri cities and charter counties with a population larger than 30,000.

Charter schools are publicly-funded schools which operate independently of traditional public schools. Under current Missouri law, charter schools are only allowed in St. Louis, Kansas City and in unaccredited school districts.

Speaker Haahr says Roeber “will forever be remembered for being a champion for Missouri’s students.” He says she had a passion to see children develop the tools to succeed in life.

“An incredibly kind person, incredibly talented and cared so much about education, about giving kids the best opportunity forward and it’s a tragedy for the House to lose her,” says Haahr.

Before being elected to the House in 2014, Roeber served as a teacher in the Raytown school district for 17 years. Raytown is a Kansas City suburb.

Haahr tells Missourinet that Roeber was respected by lawmakers in both parties.

“Even when she could be firm, she never seemed angry or upset with people that she worked with and she was just liked across the aisle, universally by everyone,” Haahr says.

After the crash, Roeber did not return to the Statehouse in Jefferson City for the rest of the 2019 session. Speaker Haahr told Missourinet in May that she would need to learn to walk again.

Funeral arrangements for Representative Roeber have not been announced yet.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full three-minute interview with House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, about State Rep. Rebecca Roeber’s death and her education legacy:

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Missouri lawmaker dies; Roeber chaired House Education Committee

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The chairwoman of the Missouri House Education Committee has died.

State Rep. Rebecca Roeber, R-Lee’s Summit, speaks on the Missouri House floor on May 12, 2017 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, tells Missourinet that State Rep. Rebecca Roeber, R-Lee’s Summit, passed away overnight while on a family vacation in Colorado.

Roeber, who was first elected to the House in 2014, chaired the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee.

She suffered serious injuries in a March head-on collision on Highway 50 in west-central Missouri’s Syracuse. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says Roeber crossed the center line on Highway 50 and struck a second vehicle.

In a statement, Speaker Haahr says Roeber “will forever be remembered for being a champion for Missouri’s students.”

Missouri will become third state to make insurers cover therapies for disabled kids

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In 2010, the Missouri Legislature passed a bill requiring insurance companies to cover therapies for the state’s autistic children. A measure passed this year expands that policy by mandating insurers to include physical, occupational and speech therapies for Missouri’s physically and developmentally disabled kids up to age 18. The move will make the Show-Me State among three states in the nation to have a therapy requirement for all children with such challenges.

The Schelps pictured with Gov. Mike Parson during bill signing

The bipartisan bill, sponsored by State Representative Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, was attached to a healthcare bill with several other components. It was signed into law this month by Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, and takes effect with 2020 insurance plans.

Robyn Schelp, of central Missouri’s Columbia, has been a leading advocate of the law because her 11-year-old son, Nathan, is developmentally challenged.

“It’s not going to impact him that much anymore like it would have ten years ago, but it needs to be done for all kiddos,” says Schelp. “This is not about Nathan. It’s not about Will. It’s not about the kids that are walking the halls. It’s about all of Missouri’s children.”

Schelp’s pursuit for the law included leaving the language broad for all disabilities to get equal treatment.

“It is so important that all disabilities be included to do with anything in the disability world,” she says. “This (bill) includes disabilities like Down syndrome, which is pretty common, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, to the really rare genetic disorders. Or like my son, who has a genetic disorder that they can’t even figure out what it is.”

In the provision of Senate Bill 514, it says that insurance companies must be limited to a number of visits per calendar year, provided that additional visits shall be covered if approved and deemed medically necessary by the health benefit plan. Schelp is hopeful that more therapy providers will surface in Missouri, especially in schools and in rural areas where healthcare resources are especially limited.

“It (the law) impacts their families. It’s impacts their neighbors. It impacts their classrooms – their classmates. It impacts the community. When we start to get beyond ourselves, we can realize when everybody’s needs are met, everybody benefits,” Schelp says.

Now that Missouri will soon become the third state to expand coverage, Schelp does not plan to stop advocating for the cause.

“Our goal is to see nationwide change. We want this (requirement) to happen everywhere,” says Schelp. “It should have already happened everywhere, but now it’s time to make sure it happens everywhere throughout the country.”

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(AUDIO) Missouri legislator says previous ACA requirement is main culprit for major decline in Medicaid figures

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State House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, says about 120,000 Missourians, including roughly 95,000 children, have been removed from Medicaid since January 2018. She has sent a letter to House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, calling on him to start a legislative investigation to find out why.

Missouri House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, speaks on the House floor on May 9, 2019 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Haahr says Representative David Wood, R-Versailles, is reviewing the figures and is confident Wood will ensure the law is being followed. Haahr says he asked Wood more than one month ago to begin analyzing the numbers.

Wood, who chairs a budget committee involving Social Services, says he’s been following the issue for months because some of his colleagues approached him about the trend. He thinks the dip in numbers is largely tied to the Affordable Care Act previously penalizing parents who did not put their kids on Medicaid.

“If you had children and they qualified for Medicaid, when you went to the health exchange online, you were required to put your children on Medicaid and not on your health insurance policy,” he says. “So, we saw an increase of about 120,000 individuals on Medicaid through that time frame from 2014-2016. About 83% to 85% of those were children.”

In 2017, President Donald Trump repealed the requirement. Wood says starting this year, the penalty went away.

“So, those individuals who’ve re-certified over the last year and no longer are going to be penalized, they have the ability to put those children back onto their own policies or not cover them under Medicaid,” he says.

Wood also thinks the decline is partly due to higher employment, a reduction in the number of Medicaid applications submitted, and a new streamlined re-enrollment program is catching those who do not qualify. According to Wood, the total number in the reduction of applications is in the works.

Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, briefs Capitol reporters on March 12, 2019 in Jefferson City (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

“There is no child being denied Medicaid who is qualifying for Medicaid,” he says. “If that did happen, if there was a computer glitch, if there was a program issue, if they called, their coverage goes back and is fully enforced. It goes back to the date that it would have been cancelled, so there would be no bill presented to those individuals. If it’s a new application, once that application is filed, we not only cover to that date, we cover three months prior once they are accepted in.”

Wood, who is also the vice chairman of the House Budget committee, says almost every family in his district qualifies for their children to be on Medicaid.

“With this problem, or supposed problem, I have not had a single constituent call me to say ‘My children have been taken off of Medicaid and they’re wrong.’ I’ve talked to a few other representatives and they have not received constituent phone calls either. If this were as big of a case as what it would appear to be, by just looking at 120,000 kids coming off of Medicaid, we would have had phone calls all over the place. There would have been an uproar,” Wood says.

Representative David Wood (courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Is this issue being blown out of proportion?

“I don’t know that it’s being blown out of proportion because everybody should have a concern when those numbers drop,” he says. “But I think the explanations make sense. The numbers balance. I think it’s something we need to be aware of and be cautionary on, but I do not believe it rises to the ‘Republicans are taking kids off of Medicaid kind of thing.’ I think we are more in a philosophical argument than an argument of concern.”

Wood says he plans to meet soon with state Medicaid and Family Services officials, along with Quade, and Democratic Representatives Kip Kendrick of Columbia and Sarah Unsicker of Shrewsbury, to come to an understanding about what the numbers mean.

To hear the full interview with Rep. David Wood, click below.

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DHSS: Heat is especially dangerous for Missouri’s elderly and small children (AUDIO)

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Missouri health officials are urging you to stay hydrated and cool during this excessive heat. State Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) Bureau of Epidemiology Chief Jeff Wenzel says knowing the signs of heat exhaustion is key.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) logo (image courtesy of DHSS)

“You’re looking at heavy sweating, paleness, muscle cramps, tiredness and weakness, dizziness and fainting,” Wenzel says.

Health officials recommend that you wear lightweight, light-colored clothing and stay cool indoors.

With heat indices expected well over 100 degrees in much of Missouri again Friday, state health officials recommend remaining vigilant about the dangers of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wenzel says people experiencing heat exhaustion should move to a cool place.

“Give them some water or cold gatorade and seek medical attention if symptoms get worse or last more than an hour,” says Wenzel.

He says 19 Missourians died from heat-related illness in 2018, while there were 17 deaths in 2017.

DHSS encourages residents to call the state’s toll-free abuse and neglect hotline to report seniors and the disabled who are suffering from heat and need assistance.

That number is 1-800-392-0210.

State health officials say elderly residents are more vulnerable to heat and humidity because they perspire less. Wenzel urges you make sure your elderly neighbors and family members are cool and hydrated.

“They also may be on medication that would make them react differently to the heat,” Wenzel says.

He also says excessive heat can be especially dangerous to small children and the chronically ill.

You can find a link to all of the state’s cooling centers here.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with DHSS Bureau of Epidemiology Chief Jeff Wenzel, which was recorded on July 18, 2019:

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Governor orders Missouri healthcare task force to be formed

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Gov. Mike Parson has signed today an executive order creating a statewide task force to address the rising costs of healthcare and increase access and competition in insurance markets.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson speaks to the Capitol Press Corps after being sworn-in as governor on June 1, 2018 in Jefferson City (file photo by Tim Bommel/UPI)

In a press release from Parson’s office, it says since 2011, Missourians have been faced with health insurance coverage premiums that have nearly tripled on the individual market. Currently, 101 Missouri counties have only one insurance carrier offering health insurance plans in the individual market.

Parson says it is imperative for the state to develop comprehensive and innovative ways to transform the health insurance market in order to meet the needs of all Missourians.

“Missouri knows best when it comes to taking care of our citizens, not Washington, D.C.,” Parson says. “Our health insurance market is not competitive, and there is no ‘one size fits all’ federal solution that addresses every issue of healthcare access and the rising cost of insurance premiums for Missourians.”

Parson is challenging the group to develop concepts that will improve access to affordable insurance options and healthcare services while reducing the state’s uninsured rates. The governor wants an emphasis on increasing access to healthcare in rural areas of the state.

The task force must submit its recommendations to the governor by January 31, 2020. Parson spokeswoman Kelli Jones says the panel is being formed and who will serve on the task force is unknown at this time.

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