By JIM MCLEAN

Kansas’ largest health insurer and the state’s largest health care provider are forming an accountable care organization to lower health care costs.

After nearly a year of negotiations, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas and Wichita-based Via Christi Health have finalized an agreement aimed at changing the way care is provided to approximately 20,000 Kansans covered by BCBS policies.

Under the agreement, Via Christi would share in any savings that result from an emphasis on preventive care and from more effective management of patients with chronic conditions. But it could also lose money if the anticipated savings don’t materialize.

The arrangement creates financial incentives to move away from doing tests and procedures that inflate health care costs without improving the quality of care, says Mary Beth Chambers, a spokesperson for BCBS of Kansas.

“It really creates kind of a new type of partnership between the insurer and the health care provider,” Chambers says.

The belief — buttressed by research — that an increased focus on preventive care and management of chronic conditions can lower overall health care costs has led networks of doctors and hospitals across the country to form hundreds of accountable care organizations, or ACOs.

Providers in ACOs receive what amounts to a flat fee to provide all the care their patients need. Because health outcomes also are monitored, providers have strong incentives to focus on delivering cost-effective care without cutting corners that could jeopardize the health of their patients.

The agreement with BCBS is the latest indication of Via Christi’s strategic direction.

Three years ago, it created the Healthier You Alliance in Accountable Care, which utilizes a network of more than 600 providers to coordinate care for 21,700 Medicare beneficiaries in Wichita, Manhattan and Wamego and approximately 16,0000 Via Christi employees and their dependents.

Three years ago, Via Christi created its Healthier You Alliance in Accountable Care. Under the alliance, a network of more than 600 providers coordinate care for 21,700 Medicare beneficiaries in Wichita, Manhattan and Wamego and approximately 16,000 Via Christi employees and their dependents.

Dave Gambino, chief strategy officer for Via Christi, says the Healthier You Alliance set the stage for the agreement with BCBS of Kansas.

“What makes our ACO unique in our service area is that it’s a physician-led payer-provider model,” Gambino says. “Working together allows us to create wins for everyone involved.”

Jim McLean is executive editor of KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team.

NEW YORK (AP) — Michelle Obama wants kids to maintain a healthy weight.

The first lady visited a school on Manhattan’s Upper West Side on Thursday to announce a $500 million donation funding the fight against childhood obesity.

The money comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The initiative encourages educators and families to serve healthier food and organize more exercise.

The West Side High School opened its kitchen and bicycle spin room to Obama.

She watched closely as school cooks prepared to whip up smoothies using strawberries, blueberries, kale and other healthy ingredients.

The first lady was especially curious about the coconut water. She asked what its value is versus regular water.

NEW YORK (AP) — Struggling electronics retailer RadioShack has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and says it will sell up to 2,400 stores.

The Fort Worth, Texas company has suffered from years of losses.

RadioShack Corp. introduced the first mass-market personal computer and used to be the go-to stop for consumers’ home electronics needs. But it struggled as shoppers increasingly shifted to making purchases online and growth in its wireless business slowed.

The New York Stock Exchange suspended trading of its shares on Monday and sought to delist it.

RadioShack had warned of a possible bankruptcy in September, but received rescue financing that kept it afloat. Still, its CEO recently cautioned the chain might not be able to find a long-term plan to stay in business.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback says he’s going to cut nearly $45 million in funding for public schools and higher education in March.

But the governor also suggested that lawmakers could head off the reductions by withholding $54 million from public schools instead.

The Republican governor announced his plans for the current budget cycle Thursday just ahead of a Senate vote on a bill aimed at erasing a projected $344 million deficit.

Kansas law gives the governor the authority to make some budget cuts on his own to keep the budget in balance.

The $54 million represents additional funding required under a law enacted last year to boost aid to poor districts. The promised aid is costing more than anticipated.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Kansas woman rushing toward Lincoln after her water broke delivered twins on the side of the highway.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports 36-year old Laura Clark, of Barnes, Kansas, told her 39-year-old husband Kevin Clark to pull over Thursday morning and call 911, because one of the babies had already been born.

After placing the call, Kevin Clark says he wrapped the baby in a blanket and tied off the umbilical cord, and then the second one was born.

Lancaster County Sheriff’s Capt. Ben Houchin says rescue crews arrived shortly after the second birth and took the babies to Bryan Medical Center East Campus in Lincoln, where he says the newborn boy and girl are doing well.

The couple says they haven’t yet decided on names.

TOPEKA -Kansas Game Wardens are seeking the public’s help.

An adult Bald Eagle was shot and killed below Marion Reservoir’s dam sometime Wednesday morning.

Anyone with information is asked to call Operation Game Thief at 877-426-3843.

Operation Game Thief provides a toll-free line available 24/7, 365 days of the year, for citizens to report wildlife-related violations.

All calls received through the OGT line are quickly relayed to the natural resource officer nearest the violation, and callers can remain anonymous.

 

By Tomas Hoppough
KU Statehouse Wire Service

TOPEKA – The Senate Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice introduced a bill Wednesday that would prevent schools from promoting sexual materials some say can be harmful to minors.

Senate Bill 56 would remove affirmative defense for promoting “harmful material” to minors. Affirmative defense allows defendants to concede the committed alleged acts if there was no illegal intention.

The bill stems from a incident in 2014 when a poster on a Kansas middle school classroom door listed how people expressed their sexual feelings.

“The poster was a big mistake,” said Phillip Cosby of American Family Association of Kansas and Missouri. “We need to protect our kids.”

Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook (R-Shawnee) said state laws should safeguard the rights of parents to protect their children from harmful material, especially in schools.

“Pornography and obscene materials are becoming more and more prevalent in our society,” Pilcher-Cook said. “It’s all too common to hear of cases where children are not being protected from the harm it inflicts.”

Last year, Pilcher-Cook pushed for a House bill that would require districts to collect signed consent forms from parents if they wanted their child to learn about sexual education. The same sexual feelings poster also instigated that bill.
In 2014, a 13-year-old girl at Hocker Grove Middle School in Shwanee saw the poster on the back of a science classroom door and was “disturbed by it.” The poster listed sexual acts ranging from kissing to vaginal intercourse.

Opponents of the bill introduced Wednesday were not present in the hearing but provided written testimonies. Elise Higgins of Planned Parenthood, in her written testimony said that teachers should not be criminalized for doing their jobs of educating students on sexual health.
Other opponents of SB 56 said the bill is a solution looking for a problem.

“The affirmative defense is not a free pass to break the law and provide harmful materials to minors,” said David Schauner, General Counsel for the Kansas National Education Association. “It is, however, a protection against baseless claims attacking legitimate education programs and curriculum.”

Pilcher-Cook said educators of K-12 children should exercise thoughtful judgment on materials that could be considered offensive. Cosby said that in Kansas, minors lose their protective potency to obscene material the moment a kindergartner enters the school building.

“Times are different now,” Cosby said in his testimony. “We need to have better protection for our kids. Adults have more protection (from obscene material) than kindergartners.”

In response, committee ranking minority member Sen. Pat Pettey (D-Kansas City) said she didn’t agree with Cosby’s statements, then asked how kindergartners have less protection to obscene material than adults. Cosby responded they aren’t doing enough to protect children but did not elaborate.

The committee will continue discussion on SB 56 in mid-February.

Tomas Hoppough is a senior at the University of Kansas from Fairbanks Alaska, and is majoring in journalism.