Paying for Health Care

The Cover of the April 24 Print Edition

Thieves' Bazaar: Hospitals, doctors and dealers have made Medicare the nation's sweetest crime. The feds are now trying to shutter the door.

Beyoncé, Ryan Gosling, Other Celeb Faces In Missouri Medicaid Expansion Campaign

Expanding Medicaid in Missouri may not be super sexy -- but Ryan Gosling and Beyoncé are! This is sort of the thinking behind the Missouri Medicaid Coalition's latest campaign to pressure lawmakers to expand Medicaid in the state. And what better way to spread the word than some good ole' fashion ... More >>

Domino's Pizza Founder Believes Contraception Is "Gravely Immoral," Sues Federal Government

It's like national pizza chains don't want our business these days. Following President Barack Obama's reelection in November, Papa John's chief executive John Schnatter threatened to cut employee hours to dodge offering health insurance under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or, "O ... More >>

Guess Who's Fat? New CDC Data Says There's MO of Us to Love

In an announcement that should surprise no one who mingles with the general public, Missouri has been classified by the Center for Disease Control as one of the heaviest states in the nation. No, don't clap, Shamu. This is bad news.Missouri finished in the top twelve of the heavy-weight states, with ... More >>

Dr. Abid Nisar Gets Probation and a $250K Fine for Prescribing Misbranded Drugs to Cancer Patients

Dr. Abid Nisar, he of the $2 million manse in Town & Country, received his sentence today for purchasing $352,504 worth of unlicensed and non-FDA approved cancer drugs from foreign distributors and dispensing them to his patients. Nisar had previously entered a guilty plea to receiving misbrande ... More >>

The Mega-Mansion of Indicted Town & Country Doctor Abid Nasir

​You may have heard last week about Abid Nisar, a local oncologist who pleaded guilty to selling off-brand chemotherapy drugs not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. But have you seen his outrageous Town & Country abode?According to a federal indictment, Nisar began purchasing unregu ... More >>

State Senator Jane Cunningham Hints at Death Panels, Blocks Bill for Insurance Exchanges

​State Senator Jane Cunningham (R - Chesterfield) assures Daily RFT that she is not the "black helicopter type." Still, when reading House Bill 609 that would set up a health insurance exchange in Missouri, she came across language that reminded her of the "death panels" critics of federal health ... More >>

Post-Dispatch Sued (Again) Over Retiree Benefits

​The beleaguered St. Louis Post-Dispatch -- already fending off a lawsuit from the Newspaper Guild over retiree benefits -- now faces another suit from the union representing its mailroom workers.The CWA Local 14620, also known as the St. Louis Mailers Union No. 3, represents the 220 employees who ... More >>

Todd Akin: Doubts Climate Change, Constitutionality of Medicare

Akin touts his Tea Party credentials.​Congressman Todd Akin showed off his conservative bona fides Saturday in a meeting with Tea Party activists in Fulton. Akin, who's hoping to win the Republican primary for Senate, told the group that global warming is "highly suspect" and that he's proud of hi ... More >>

Survey Sez: Missouri "Sharply Divided" on Health Care Reform

Missouri is still divided on Obamacare.Courtesy of Minnesotamajority.org​ Almost a full year after President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. health care reform, a.k.a Obamacare) into law, Missouri remains sharply divided on its merits, according to a new survey from a local ... More >>

Barnes Hospital to Patients: We Don't Want You Back

image viaY'all don't come back here, ya hear?​You'd think that once you're discharged from the hospital, you're no longer sick. Right? But a 2009 study by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found that in 2004, one in five Medicare beneficiaries was readmitted to the hospital within ... More >>

Senate Debate: Carnahan Goes for the Jugular; Blunt Dons His Teflon Suit and Counterattacks

​Robin Carnahan wasted no time going after her Republican opponent, Roy Blunt, in the first face-off between the two candidates yesterday. Sporting an aqua-marine blouse, Carnahan leaned on the dais during her two-minute opening statement and blasted Blunt with allegations made in her campaign ads ... More >>

The Straight Dope on Missouri Tobacco-Smokers

​About 23 percent of Missouri's adults still proudly identify as smokers, according to a new report by Washington University's Center for Tobacco Policy Research (CTPR). That means our state has one of the highest population of smokers in the country. Of all those unrepentant smokers, nearly ... More >>

Drug Company Caught Bribing Docs with Cardinals Tickets

​Forest Laboratories makes drugs and money, and plenty of both. And apparently, they bribe docs so that they can make even more money.On Wednesday, as reported by the New York Times, Forest -- and their St. Louis-based subsidiary, Forest Pharmaceuticals -- agreed to pay a $313 million settlement i ... More >>

Misssourians Reject Federal Health Care Overhaul by Margin of 2-1

Well, that settles that -- for now.​Given how Missouri Republicans and Tea Party members have railed against federal health care reform for over a year now, yesterday's results aren't all that surprising.On Tuesday those same people had a chance to finally put their ballot where their mouth is in ... More >>

Obamacare Litigation Update: Missouri's Vote Today Could Actually Count

Today, Missouri voters will weigh a measure that would reject a key provision of President Barack Obama's health care reform package -- the provision mandating that individuals either find insurance coverage, or pay a fine. Missouri votes on a referendum to stop Obama's plan today.â ... More >>

Kinder Finally Files that Lawsuit vs. Health Care Reform

Peter Kinder​He's been huffing and puffing about it since April. But will the lawsuit Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder filed yesterday be enough to blow health care reform down? Probably not. But, hey, it makes for good political theater. In his federal lawsuit filed yesterday in Cape Girardeau, Kinder argue ... More >>

Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder Plans Federal Lawsuit to Stop Health Care Reform

​Whoa. Just finished watching the video clip of Fox New's Greta Van Sustern interviewing Missouri Lieutenant Peter Kinder this week. And I just got to say, apart from the time the Addams Family met the Munsters on Family Feud, has a more physically unbecoming pairing ever graced a television show? ... More >>

Obama Signs House Bill, Now Health Care Reform Heads to Senate for Debate

cnn.comObama signs health care reform today in the presence of, Gary Coleman???​President Obama moments ago signed the House version of health care reform. At a signing ceremony this afternoon Obama stated: "It's been easy at times to doubt our ability to do such a big thing, such a complicated th ... More >>

How They Voted on Health Care: Missouri and St. Louis Area Representatives

Todd Akin: Health care reform = fightin' words.​Updated 10:00 a.m. The health care reform bill passed the House of Representatives last night with a 219 to 212 vote. No Republicans supported the measure. Thirty four Democrats also voted no, including Missouri rep Ike Skelton.The bill now heads to ... More >>

Missouri Representatives "Draw A Line in the Sand" On Federal Health Care Reform

Image Via Do not snort this line​The Missouri House of Representatives has launched a preemptive strike against Obamacare, passing legislation intended to make sure the Show-Me State is not affected by any federal health care reform efforts.Yesterday, the House approved a state constitution ... More >>

The Screaming Match Outside Obama's Fundraiser Dinner

Amir KurtovicDavid Goodard, of Piedmont, shouts at pro-health care protesters during President Obama's visit to St. Louis on Wednesday.​The year-long debate over health care reform in Congress has resulted in no bipartisanship and plenty of heated comments from both sides of the aisle. A microcosm ... More >>

Mo. State Senators Think They're in D.C., Argue Federal Budget, Health Care Reform

Mr. Schmitt goes to Washington, err Jefferson City.​Attention State Senator Eric Schmitt (R-Glendale): The Missouri Capitol may look like the U.S. Capitol. (Indeed, the building in Jefferson City is modeled after the one in Washington D.C.) But let us remind you of one little thing: You're a state ... More >>

Sen. Kit Bond Steals the Show on The Daily Show

Longtime Missouri Senator Christopher "Kit" Bond, a stalwart Republican, has said more than a few things in his lengthy political career to draw the comedic wrath of Daily Show host Jon Stewart. In April, for instance, he claimed that punishing those responsible for Bush-era torture policies was som ... More >>

St. Louis Twitterati Cover the McCaskill Town Hall Meeting on Healthcare

​Senator Claire McCaskill held a town hall meeting on healthcare reform yesterday in Hillsboro. Oh sure, you could have watched it live on at least a couple of cable outlets. Or...if you were following the right people on Twitter, you could have read up-to-the-minute updates in (almost) real time. ... More >>

Clayton's "Heartbreak Hotel," a dirty mouth and criminal foot doctors all make headlines

Podiatry and Crime: Who Knew?

focusedfootcare.comUntil this past week, we here at Daily RFT had no idea about the clear connection between foot medicine and crime. But certainly such a connection exists. Consider the case of David Quang Pham. He's the St. Louis podiatrist indicted last week for fraudulently billing Medicaid and ... More >>

Podiatrist Charged With Bilking Medicaid; Billed Amputees with No Feet

flickr.com/photos/noprawnsDr. Pham, I presume?At first glance a press release today from the U.S. Attorney's office looks like dozens of dull media alerts the prosecutor routinely sends out alleging Medicaid fraud. Then I noticed this outrageous line in the release regarding podiatrist David Quang P ... More >>

Clint Harding Benefit

7 p.m. Friday, December 28. The Focal Point, 2720 Sutton Boulevard, Maplewood.

The Gap

Medicaid's toothless protection for poor kids

Unhealthy Relationship

John Ashcroft gets a shot in the arm from the pharmaceutical and insurance industries, as well as other lobbying groups opposed to a true Patients' Bill of Rights

Will the Real John Ashcroft Please Stand Up?

Missouri's junior senator says he is a pro-consumer health-care reformist. But the insurance companies, HMOs and big business, which give him millions, think he's on their side.

Waiting to Exhale

Dr. Joel Cooper pioneered lung-volume-reduction surgery to save the lives of thousands of emphysema patients. Now he wants the government to get out of the way.

A Tale of Two States

Missouri could learn from Massachusetts, a model for how to get the lead out

State of Pain

Fayzen Woods simply wanted to get rid of her toothache. Then she had to deal with Missouri's Medicaid mess. That's when the real suffering began.

Seeing Red

After years of taking it on the chin, Bob Goeggel struck back at his competitor. Thanks to his accusations of fraud, the state's largest ambulance company is on the operating table and the feds are doing the cutting.

Wigged Out

Insurance-company evil comes in all sizes