Cerner Corp. finalized its purchase of Siemens Health Services, a health information technology division, on Monday. With the $1.3 billion all-cash purchase, Kansas City-based Cerner increased its payroll by about a third to more than 21,000 employees.
Cerner says the deal, which was announced in August, will boost Cerner’s annual revenues to between $4.8 billion and $5 billion in 2015, up from $3 billion in 2013, the last year for which figures are available.
It also will double the number of countries where the company operates. The acquisition does not reflect a shift in Cerner’s approach to business, according to a company representative.
“Cerner’s strategy around growth hasn’t actually changed,” said Julie Wilson, Cerner executive vice president and chief people officer.
“We will continue to grow organically. We will continue to leverage our knowledge and depth and strength in and around health care and technology to expand our reach even further.”
The company has no plans to relocate Siemens workers to Kansas City.
Alex Smith is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is proposing a new government agency dedicated to keeping the nation’s food safe.
It would consolidate parts of the Agriculture Department and the Food and Drug Administration.
The proposal in the president’s budget released Monday comes after outbreaks of illness linked to chicken, eggs, peanuts and cantaloupe. More than a dozen federal agencies oversee food safety, and consumer advocates have long called for giving it a single home.
Currently, the Agriculture Department oversees the safety and inspections of meat and processed eggs and the Food and Drug Administration oversees safety of most other foods.
The budget proposes to consolidate the Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service and all of FDA’s food safety oversight into one new agency within the Department of Health and Human Services.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas House has rejected a proposal to expand the state Open Records Act so that it would cover private emails by state officials about government business.
The House on Monday voted 86 to 30 against a proposal from Wichita Democrat Jim Ward.
His measure was inspired by a Wichita Eagle report that Gov. Sam Brownback’s budget director used a private email account in December to give two lobbyists a preview of Brownback’s proposals weeks before they were formally unveiled to lawmakers.
Ward offered his proposal as an amendment to an open records bill that later received first-round approval in the House.
Brownback’s office declined to comment on Ward’s proposal. But several GOP lawmakers criticized Ward for not bringing his proposal to a committee for a thorough vetting.
JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – Members of a Missouri House committee say they support changes to the state’s ethics laws but further clarification is needed.
State representatives pointed out potential problems with some ethics bills at a committee hearing Monday.
Lawmakers say blanket limits on lobbyist gifts need to have a clear time frame or other parameters. They also say it may create problems for lobbyists married to lawmakers or staff members.
Government Oversight and Accountability Chairman Jay Barnes, of Jefferson City, says some of the bills may be amended to deal with issues pointed out by the committee.
Other bills discussed included a one-year cooling-off period before a lawmaker can start lobbying, faster disclosure requirements for campaign contributions larger than $500 and a ban on lawmakers serving as campaign consultants for others.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today reintroduced her bipartisan legislation to “tighten the lid” on the ban on Congressional earmarks—prohibiting members of Congress from directing taxpayer funds to questionable pet-projects.
McCaskill’s bipartisan Earmark Elimination Act—which she is cosponsoring with Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania— makes permanent the Senate’s temporary moratorium on earmarks that McCaskill helped create.
The Earmark Elimination Act would:
Permanently ban all earmarks
Define earmarks as any congressionally directed spending item, limited tax benefit, or limited tariff benefit
Create a point of order against any legislation containing an earmark. The point of order would only apply to the actual earmark, rather than to the entire bill
Require a two-thirds vote to waive the point of order
“The public deserves an accountable, transparent government, and in this case that means getting rid of pork-barrel earmarks once and for all,” McCaskill said. “Our bipartisan bill will strengthen Americans’ confidence in their government—confidence that was jeopardized when lawmakers used earmarks to siphon taxpayer dollars for politically-inspired pet projects, instead of making decisions based on merit and competition.”
“Every member of Congress has a responsibility to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars. I take this responsibility seriously and will continue to fight on behalf of Pennsylvania taxpayers so that the hard-earned funds they send to Washington are used in the most efficient manner,” said Toomey. “Permanently banning earmarks is a big step in the right direction. For years, earmarks played a significant role in fueling the overspending in Washington. The process encouraged currying favor with lobbyists and special interests and undermined the integrity of our legislative process. My colleagues in Congress cannot credibly talk about cleaning up Washington if we do not get rid of earmarking for good and I look forward to working with Sen. McCaskill on this bipartisan effort.”
Since arriving to Congress in 2007, McCaskill has been dogged in her pursuit to eliminate earmarks, continuously building support to end the practice and ensure projects receiving taxpayer dollars are chosen based on competition and merit. McCaskill has called out members of both parties for participating in earmarking and has led the charge to protect millions of taxpayers’ dollars from earmarked pet-projects in everything from infrastructure to water resources to agriculture.
JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – The chairman of the Missouri Republican Party is leaving to take a leadership position with a conservative interest group.
Chairman Ed Martin said Monday he has accepted an offer to become president of the Eagle Forum, an organization founded by conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly.
Martin’s decision could spare the state Republican Party from a leadership battle.
Republican consultant John Hancock had planned to run against Martin during a Feb. 21 meeting of the Missouri Republican State Committee. It’s unclear with others besides Hancock now will enter the race.
Martin has been chairman since defeating David Cole in a party shakeup after the 2012 elections, when Republican gained state legislative seats but lost races for U.S. Senate, governor and other statewide executive offices.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas House committee has approved a bill eliminating a projected state budget deficit by relying more on moving money around than cutting spending.
The Appropriations Committee passed its budget-balancing measure on a voice vote. The full House is expected to take up the bill Tuesday.
The state faces a projected shortfall exceeding $330 million in its current budget after tax collections fell $47 million short of expectations in January. The deficit is in the state’s main bank account, which finances general government programs.
The bill mostly diverts money from highway projects and other special funds into the state’s main bank account.
The shortfall arose after lawmakers aggressively cut personal income taxes at Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s urging in 2012 and 2013 to stimulate the state’s economy.
Kari Bruffett, secretary of the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, met Wednesday with mental health advocates to discuss potential changes to state regulation of prescription mental health drugs. Credit Dave Ranney / Heartland Health Monitor
By DAVE RANNEY
The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services is attempting to head off opposition to a bill being crafted to allow the state to regulate the use of prescription mental health drugs.
Kari Bruffett, secretary of KDADS, met Wednesday with the Kansas Mental Health Coalition to ask its members to drop their opposition and instead help her draft a workable bill.
“We are open to having that discussion,” Bruffett said.
Coalition members agreed to sit down with Bruffett but made it clear they would likely continue to oppose any proposal aimed at limiting Medicaid patients’ access to brand-name antipsychotic drugs.
“Our opening position would be to leave the exemption alone,” said Rick Cagan, executive director with the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Kansas.
In Kansas, state law specifically prohibits the enactment of policies and regulations — such as preferred drug lists or prior authorization requirements — that could restrict or impede a physician’s ability to prescribe mental health drugs.
The law, passed in 2002, only applies to mental health drugs.
Bruffett said the law has proven to be “overly restrictive” and is hindering the state’s efforts to control costs and improve health care outcomes.
Repealing the law would save the state general fund $8.3 million in the fiscal year that begins July 1, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, which oversees the Medicaid program.
A bill to repeal the law — or at least loosen some of its restrictions — has yet to be introduced. But it’s coming, Bruffett said: “We know there is interest in the Legislature for pursuing this.”
The measure, she assured coalition members, will exclude individuals with chronic and persistent mental illnesses from any prior authorization requirements. And the state’s managed care organizations, she said, have told legislators that if the bill becomes law, they would not alter the drug regimens of current beneficiaries.
The managed care organizations, or MCOs, administer KanCare, Kansas’ $3 billion privatized Medicaid program.
The bill, Bruffett said, also will include “safety edits” meant to ensure that “behavioral health drugs are being used appropriately” and not as “a default” treatment for dementia patients.
Coalition members say they’re willing to continue discussing the issue but remain wary of the administration’s intent.
“Our concern is that this is a straight route to pharmacy management by MCOs,” said coalition director Amy Campbell.
Glea Ashley, chief executive of Valeo Behavioral Health Care in Topeka and a coalition member, said care needs to be taken in crafting any formula aimed at managing the use of mental health drugs.
“We need to be sure that, no matter what happens, people still get what they need. Otherwise, this can tip them over the edge,” Ashley said.
Jane Adams, who runs Keys for Networking, a Topeka-based program that advocates for school-age children with serious behavior issues, said families in the program are wary about the possibility of someone who’s not familiar with their children having the authority to adjust or change their medications.
“However this is handled,” Adams said, referring to the repeal initiative, “it needs to be communicated in a way that doesn’t instill fear. These are families that already are in crisis.”
Dave Ranney is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.
PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) — The bids are in and now it’s up to the state to decide the winning play for a new state-owned casino in southeast Kansas.
Four groups submitted formal applications to the Kansas Lottery Commission by the deadline Friday to open a casino in either Crawford or Cherokee counties.
The Joplin Globe reports two of the proposals are for casinos in Cherokee County, with the other two are for casinos in Crawford County.
Sally Lunsford, spokeswoman for the Kansas Lottery, said the Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board will have up to 60 days to recommend the winning bid. The Kansas Racing & Gaming Commission would then complete a background investigation and have 10 days to approve or reject the recommendation.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is pushing back against criticism of his foreign policy, arguing that Americans are safer on his watch.
Obama said in an interview on NBC’s “Today” show broadcast Monday that the U.S. has been “pretty successful” preventing major attacks since Sept. 11, 2001.
He is expressing concern about the “breakdown of order” in the Mideast and parts of North Africa. But he says, “it’s important for us to also just look at the track record of how many Americans have actually been killed during the course of this past decade.”
He says the job of fighting against extremism is never done. He says strategies have to be adapted to the constant changes terrorists are making.
