BELLEVILLE, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a small child was killed and another one hospitalized when fire swept through a north-central Kansas home.

The children’s names were not immediately released, though officials say both were younger than 5 years old.

The medical status of the child who survived the Monday morning fire in 2,000-resident Belleville was not immediately clear.

Officials say the fire broke out in the home’s basement, though the cause of the blaze was not immediately known.

The Kansas State Fire Marshal’s office is investigating.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A central Kansas man serving his first term in the Kansas House says he plans to resign this week because of health problems.

Rep. J. Basil Dannebohm, a Republican from Ellinwood, says he has early-onset Parkinson’s disease. He says since being sworn in on Jan. 12, he has found the pace of the Legislature exhausting and is growing weaker.

The Hutchinson News reports the 33-year-old Dannebohm plans to retire Friday.

Republican precinct committee members in the 113th district will meet in March and choose a successor. The 113th District covers all of Pratt and Stafford counties and parts of Barton, Rice and Pawnee counties.

The successor would complete Dannebohm’s term, which ends in January 2017.

RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — An extensive new survey says the share of Americans without health insurance dropped to its lowest level in seven years in 2014 as President Barack Obama’s overhaul took full effect.

Released Tuesday, the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index finds a drop of 3.5 percentage points in the share of Americans without health insurance, in a full-year comparison between 2013 and 2014.

Research director Dan Witters says about 12.3 million fewer adults were uninsured in the fourth quarter of 2014, compared to the third quarter of 2013.

The trend appears likely to continue, since 55 percent of the remaining uninsured say they plan to get coverage rather than face escalating tax penalties.

But first, the Supreme Court must decide if millions of people can continue to receive subsidized coverage.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Siemens Energy officials say they plan to end furloughs that had been implemented because of a dockworkers labor dispute on the West Coast.

The company said the plant in Hutchinson is expected to be back in full operation by Monday.

The Hutchinson News reports Siemens furloughed about 60 employees last Wednesday because parts needed to build wind turbine nacelles were held up by the dockworkers strike in California. A tentative agreement in that labor dispute was announced on Friday.

Nacelles hold the wind turbine’s generating components, such as the generator, gearbox, drive train and brake assembly.

The Siemens plant employs about 360 full-time workers and contract workers.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Senate is expected to debate this week a bill to allow residents who are 21 or older to carry concealed guns without a state permit.

Senate Majority Leader Terry Bruce’s office says the debate should be Wednesday or Thursday. Bruce is a Nickerson Republican, and he’s the measure’s leading sponsor.

The Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee approved the bill last week. It ends a requirement for people wanting to carry concealed to get a state permit.

A permit costs $132.50, and a person must undergo eight hours of training to get one.

Gun-rights groups note Kansas has long allowed the open carrying of weapons without a state permit. The bill’s critics say training should be mandated for people carrying concealed weapons.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Conservative Republicans are pushing to overhaul Kansas’ school curriculum with a bill blocking the Common Core standards.

The House Education Committee held a hearing Monday on the bill, which would bar any school district from adopting curriculums developed by entities outside of the state. Common Core has been adopted by 44 states, but critics have objected to it as inflexible and say it usurps local school decision-making.

Republican Rep. Ron Highland of Wamego, who chairs the committee, says he has seen a rising tide of constituents opposed to the standards.

But Democratic Rep. Ed Trimmer of Winfield said that bill could have unintended consequences like blocking advanced placement courses and instruction preparing students for college entrance exams.

Republican lawmakers tried unsuccessfully to block the standards during the previous legislative session.

By BRYAN THOMPSON

So you file your income tax return, and find you owe Uncle Sam $500—not for taxes, but for not having health insurance last year. The penalty is $95 per adult, or 1 percent of income—whichever is greater. Fifty-thousand dollars of income works out to a $500 penalty.

As many as 6 million individuals and families may have to pay this year. If you don’t have insurance for 2015, your penalty next year will rise to $325 per adult, or 2 percent of income, whichever is greater. But the enrollment period ended Feb. 15.

The Obama Administration has announced a special enrollment period for those who didn’t realize the consequences of not signing up. It gives taxpayers who face penalties for going without health insurance last year one last chance to change course, and avoid the larger penalty next year.

The special enrollment period is only available in states — like Kansas and Missouri — that rely on the federal marketplace (or FFM, for Federally Facilitated Marketplace). To be eligible, applicants must show that they:

Currently are not enrolled in coverage through the FFM for 2015;
Attest that when they filed their 2014 tax return they paid the fee for not having health coverage in 2014; and
Attest that they first became aware of, or understood the implications of, the Shared Responsibility Payment after the end of open enrollment – Feb. 15, 2015 – in connection with preparing their 2014 taxes.
The Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved (KAMU) has advised navigators at safety net clinics around the state to offer to work with tax preparers in their communities.

“Let them know they’re out there, and what they can do to help get people enrolled, so that they don’t face that penalty,” said Katrina McGivern, KAMU’s policy and public affairs director.

McGivern said there’s no need to hire additional navigators, but it is important to make sure tax preparers know where to send customers who want to take advantage of the additional sign-up opportunity.

The special enrollment period will run from March 15 through April 30. If a consumer enrolls in coverage before the 15th of the month, coverage will be effective on the first day of the following month.

This year’s tax season is the first time individuals and families will be asked to provide basic information regarding their health coverage on their tax returns. Individuals who could not afford coverage or met other conditions may be eligible to receive an exemption for 2014. To help consumers who did not have insurance last year determine if they qualify for an exemption, the government also launched a health coverage tax exemption tool today on HealthCare.gov and CuidadodeSalud.gov.

“We recognize that this is the first tax filing season where consumers may have to pay a fee or claim an exemption for not having health insurance coverage,” said Marilyn Tavenner, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). “Our priority is to make sure consumers understand the new requirement to enroll in health coverage and to provide those who were not aware or did not understand the requirement with an opportunity to enroll in affordable coverage this year.”

According to CMS, about three quarters of all taxpayers will only need to check a box when they file their taxes to indicate that they had health coverage in 2014 through their employer, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans care or other qualified health coverage that qualifies as “minimum essential coverage.”

The remaining taxpayers – about one-quarter – will take different steps. It is expected that 10 to 20 percent of taxpayers who were uninsured for all or part of 2014 will qualify for an exemption from the requirement to have coverage. A much smaller fraction of taxpayers, an estimated 2 to 4 percent, will pay a fee because they made a choice to not obtain coverage and are not eligible for an exemption.

Consumers who have questions about their taxes, need to download forms or want to learn more about the fee for not having insurance, can find information and resources at www.HealthCare.gov/Taxes or www.IRS.gov. Consumers can also call the Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596. Consumers who need assistance filing their taxes can visit IRS.gov/VITA or IRS.gov/freefile

Consumers seeking to take advantage of the special enrollment period can find out if they are eligible by visiting https://www.healthcare.gov/get-coverage Consumers can find local help at: Localhelp.healthcare.gov or call the Federally Facilitated Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596. TTY users should call 1-855-889-4325. Assistance is available in 150 languages. The call is free.

Bryan Thompson is a reporter for KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team.

HUMBOLT – Three adults and two children were injured in an accident just after 3 p.m. on Monday in Allen County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1995 Ford minivan driven by Carl R. Taylor, 55, Humbolt, was northbound on 1200th street two miles south of Humbolt.

The van hit a 2003 Chevy Monte Carlo driven by Gary D. Ludlum, in the rear at highway speeds. Both vehicles rolled and came to rest in the east ditch

Taylor, Ludlum, and passengers in the Chevy Alexandria R. Ludlum, 24, and two children of Scranton were transported to Allen County Hospital

The KHP reported all were properly restrained at the time of the accident.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google is teaming up with three major U.S. wireless carriers in an effort to prod more people into using its mobile wallet and undercut the rapid success of Apple’s rival payment service.

The deal announced Monday calls for Google’s tap-and-pay service to be built into Android smartphones sold by AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA beginning later his year. Smartphone owners currently have to download Google Wallet and install the app on their phone if they want to use the service.

Besides trying to make it more convenient to use Wallet, Google also is hoping to improve the nearly 4-year-old service. Toward that end, Google Inc. is buying some mobile payment technology and patents from Softcard, a venture owned by the wireless carriers.

Financial terms weren’t disclosed.