Health

This Friday is the deadline for people with Medicare to make changes to change their health and drug coverage.

If you have original Medicare, your benefits are administered by the federal government. If you have Medicare Advantage, your plan is run by a private insurance company. Now is the time when you can switch to Medicare Advantage, if you wish.

On the other hand, if you want to drop your Medicare Advantage plan and switch to original Medicare, that opportunity runs from January 1 through February 14.

A new report says people who buy individual health insurance are saving money because of new regulations under the Affordable Care Act.

The report comes from the non-profit Commonwealth Fund and says cost savings and rebates to individual plan customers totaled almost $1.5 billion last year.

Two Kansas City hospitals have announced plans to work together to create a single, integrated pediatric program. 

Children’s Mercy and the University of Kansas Hospital say they'll work together to improve pediatric care. They're also hoping to expand research, boost training and coordinate children’s health initiatives.

The partnership also includes the KU Med Center and the KU Physicians group. The two hospitals already work together on medical education, research and clinical trials.

If Congress fails to come up with a package of budget cuts and tax hikes to avoid the automatic cuts scheduled for the first of January, thousands of senior citizens in Kansas may not get a daily, hot lunch.