By DAN MARGOLIES

HCA Midwest Health has agreed to pay the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City $15 million to settle part of a long-running dispute with the foundation over HCA’s charitable obligations.

The agreement is the latest development in a lawsuit filed in 2009 by the foundation, which was created from the proceeds of the sale of Health Midwest to HCA in 2003.

The lawsuit concerns whether HCA met its contractual obligations following its purchase of Health Midwest to provide at least $653 million in charity and uncompensated care over 10 years.

Last April, HCA agreed to pay $77 million to the foundation, on top of nearly $162 million that a judge ordered it to pay in 2013. The central issue in those earlier phases of the case was whether HCA’s construction of new hospitals counted toward commitments it made to spend $450 million in capital expenditures over five years.

HCA has preserved its right to challenge the judge’s ruling.

The latest settlement does not affect an ongoing dispute between HCA and the foundation over whether HCA met its capital expenditure obligations.

“The foundation is pleased to have reached this settlement and will use the proceeds to continue our mission of improving health for the uninsured and underserved in the Kansas City community,” Kenneth Southwick, chairman of the foundation’s board, said in a news release about the settlement.

M.L. Lagarde, president and CEO of HCA Midwest Health, said in the release that while the company believed it had “fully satisfied and exceeded its charity and uncompensated care obligations,” the settlement “provides additional funds for the benefit of the healthcare needs of Kansas City’s uninsured and underserved population.”

HCA is the largest for-profit hospital chain in the country. The company paid $1.3 billion in 2003 to acquire Menorah Medical Center, Research Medical Center, Overland Park Regional Medical Center and other non-profit health care facilities owned by Health Midwest.

Proceeds of the sale were used to set up the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City on the Missouri side of the state line and the REACH Healthcare Foundation on the Kansas side.

This story was updated to include additional information about the underlying lawsuit and HCA Midwest Health’s holdings.

Editor’s note: The Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City helps fund Heartland Health Monitor’s health coverage.

Dan Margolies is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.

SPRINGFIELD (AP) – Four people are facing federal charges in an alleged scheme to sell stolen cooking oil to a recycling center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The indictment announced Tuesday says the conspirators stole more than $5.6 million in the cooking oil from restaurants in five states.

The defendants are 58-year-old Jeffery L. Fleming, of Joplin; his 48-year-old brother, Brian D. Fleming, of Mountain Grove; and two of their employees at recycling centers, 51-year-old Virgil Bird Jr., and 28-year-old Neal Robbins, both of Joplin.

Prosecutors say the men were charged in a 12-count indictment including conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property.

Court documents say the recycling business in Tulsa sent a tanker truck to Fleming Recycling almost every day to collect used oil between November 2010 and September 2011.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri senators say Medicaid recipients who live outside the state should no longer receive health benefits through either a managed care plan or the state’s health system.

The Senate gave initial approval Tuesday to a measure requiring the state’s social services department to stop providing benefits if it gets information about a recipient living elsewhere.
The bill includes an exemption for foster children in state custody who may be temporarily living outside Missouri.

Republican Sen. Wayne Wallingford, of Cape Girardeau, says the state will likely save money by making the change to stop non-Missouri residents from collecting benefits.
He says there are about 500 managed-care Medicaid recipients who are living outside of the state.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Four Columbia residents are accused of distributing heroin that contributed to two nonfatal overdoses last month.
The Columbia Daily Tribune reports a grand jury indicted the four people in a conspiracy to sell heroin in Boone County between February 2014 and Jan. 20 of this year.
Police found on Jan. 10 an unresponsive man and woman at a residence following a report of an overdose. Medical professionals were able to revive the two, who were taken to a hospital for further treatment.
U.S. attorney Tammy Dickinson for the western district of Missouri says police found a package of unused heroin and drug paraphernalia at the home.

JOSH LEDERMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is preparing to withdraw nearly all of the military troops deployed to West Africa to help with the response to the Ebola outbreak.

The White House says the U.S. and other nations have made substantial progress in fighting Ebola in West Africa and says the response is entering a new phase.

Of the 2,800 troops that were deployed, the U.S. plans to leave just 100 in place after April 30. About 1,500 of those troops have already returned.

The White House says many of the functions the military has been handling will now be performed by civilians.

President Barack Obama was to announce the withdrawal on Wednesday at an event at the White House. He was also to outline next steps the U.S. plans to take.

LEXINGTON- A Missouri woman was injured in an accident just after 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday in Lafayette County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Chevy Malibu driven by Cherise L. Clement, 36, Kansas City, was traveling on U.S. 24 just west of Lazy View Lane.

The vehicle traveled off the right side of the road, hit an embankment and rolled.

Clement was flown to Research Medical Center for treatment of serious injuries.

The KHP report also alleges she was driving while intoxicated, driving while suspended and failed to maintain the right half of the roadway resulting in the accident. She was properly restrained at the time of the accident.

TROY- Two people have pleaded not guilty to charges in an eastern Missouri boy’s staged kidnapping.

Authorities say the 6-year-old’s mother, grandmother and aunt planned the ruse to scare him, because they believed he was too nice to people. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office says the family wanted to teach him about possible danger from strangers.

The sheriff’s office says the women enlisted help from the aunt’s co-worker in last week’s fake kidnapping.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports all four made their first court appearance Tuesday. The co-worker and grandmother pleaded not guilty. Both are charged with felony kidnapping, felonious restraint, and abuse or neglect of a child.

A prosecutor says the Troy mother and aunt have applied for public defenders. Their next court hearing is set for Feb. 26.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City’s largest private company is moving from Missouri to Kansas after its new, $30 million headquarters in the Village West area of Wyandotte County is completed.

Dairy Farmers of America is owned by 15,000 dairy farmers nationwide and had $18 billion in revenues last year. Farmers promote milk and export dairy products and powders to nearly 50 countries through the DFA.

The Kansas City Star  reports the company was formed in 1998 and has leased 72,000 square feet near Kansas City International Airport since then. The new building will be 100,000 square feet with an open floor plan to house the cooperative’s 325 employees.

DFA spokeswoman Monica Massey says the decision was made after looking at all options based on its commitment to remain in the metropolitan area.