By JIM MCLEAN
A Lawrence businesswoman has become something of a poster child for the Affordable Care Act.

Meg Heriford, owner of the Ladybird Diner, didn’t seek the spotlight but has been thrust into the role by former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Sebelius, who also served two terms as Kansas governor, still has a home in the state as well as one in Washington, D.C.

On a recent trip back to Kansas, Sebelius had lunch at the Ladybird and heard Heriford’s story, which she now relates to audiences whenever she’s asked to speak about the ACA and the difference it’s making in people’s lives.

“The Ladybird Diner on Mass. Street in Lawrence is a wonderful new operation. The owner there, the first time I was there, said to me, ‘You know, Kathleen, this is really your diner.’ Well, that’s cool. Great. Why?” Sebelius said in a recent talk. “She said, ‘Well, I’ve always wanted to open a diner. I’ve had that dream all my life, but I have a pre-existing health condition. But the passage of the health law and my ability to get insurance allowed me to then open this diner.’”
At her bustling downtown diner, Heriford said she doesn’t mind Sebelius using her business as an example of an ACA success story.

“Certainly I wouldn’t call it a perfect program, but neither am I,” Heriford said. “So, I think I’m an apt poster child.”

Before the health reform law, Heriford said a pre-existing condition — a lump in one of her breasts and a genetic predisposition for cancer — made coverage either impossible to get or prohibitively expensive.

But under the ACA, insurance companies can no longer deny coverage. Heriford was able to get a plan through the ACA marketplace that covers her and her family for a little more than $200 a month.

Having that security, she said, allowed her to quit her waitress job, start the diner and take what she hopes is a temporary cut in pay.

Heriford said her premiums probably are going up for 2016, but she was able to compare plans available through the marketplace.

“Yep, we’re back in the marketplace looking again and it may indeed go up a bit,” she said. “But I think that it is certainly more accessible to me now than it would have been five years ago.”

Heriford is doing what millions of other newly covered Americans are doing: With insurance companies raising rates, she’s looking for the best deal she can get.

Sheldon Weisgrau, director of the Health Reform Resource Project in Kansas, said it’s good that Heriford and other consumers are price shopping. But he said they should be careful not to sacrifice good coverage to get lower premiums.

“That is a concern. People have become a little savvier in looking at other costs, but the monthly premium is still the primary consideration,” Weisgrau said. “That can work well if you don’t need to use a lot of health care services throughout the year. If you do, some of those people may be facing higher out-of-pocket costs down the road.”

Heriford said she understands the trade-offs and wants the best deal she can get on good coverage.

“I’m in my 40s and I have four kids. I have this diner to run,” she said. “So, it’s important that I stay healthy.”

Federal officials tracking ACA enrollment said that consumers like Heriford are setting records in the marketplace.

Nationwide, more than 8.5 million people have selected plans since enrollment started Nov. 1, including nearly 85,000 in Kansas and more than 250,000 in Missouri.

Open enrollment closes Jan. 31 for coverage starting March 1.

Jim McLean is executive editor of KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY- A Kansas woman was injured in an accident just before 7:30p.m. on Friday in Montgomery County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1999 Ford Contour driven by Autum Renee Early, 20, Coffeyville, was northbound on U.S. 169 two miles south of the U.S.160 junction.

The vehicle rear-ended a 2015 Volvo, which was stopped at a railroad crossing, and overturned.

Early was transported to Coffeyville Regional Medical Center. A 6-month-old child and the driver of the Volvo from Texas were not injured.

All were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers plan to have meetings Sunday before their annual session opens, and a gathering for Senate Republicans is closed to the public.

Senate Majority Leader Terry Bruce’s office confirmed that GOP senators plan to meet at 5 p.m. Sunday at the Kansas Bankers Association headquarters in west Topeka. His office described it as a pre-session orientation session that traditionally has been private.

House Democrats have scheduled a retreat for noon Sunday at the Jayhawk Tower downtown, with policy briefings beginning at 1:30 p.m. Senate Democrats have been invited, and the event is open to reporters and the public.

House Republicans are not planning a gathering.

The House and Senate are scheduled to convene at 2 p.m. Monday for the session’s opening day.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has issued a new, broader executive order telling state agencies that they can’t assist with resettling refugees who are security risks.

The order issued by the governor Friday applies to any refugees presenting a security risk to the state. Brownback’s office issued a statement saying the order recognizes the threat posed by terrorists or refugees sympathetic to them.

The Republican governor issued an executive order in November that applied specifically to Syrian refugees. Like the previous order, the new one also is aimed at preventing organizations that receive state grant money from helping relocate refugees.

The new order says the restrictions will remain in place until Kansas is assured that the federal government has an adequate process for vetting refugees.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Shawnee County judge quickly dismissed a civil action to remove a Topeka city councilman charged with child abuse from the council. But prosecutors say they will refile the action later.

In a hearing Friday, Judge Franklin Theis dismissed the ouster effort against Jonathan Robert Schumm.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the district attorney’s office sought the dismissal earlier in the day. But prosecutors said they would refile the civil action after the criminal case against Schumm is resolved.

Schumm and his wife, Allison Nicole Schumm, are charged with one criminal count each of aggravated battery and four counts of endangering a child. Court records show that Jonathan Schumm is accused of choking a child and threatening to “kill him.”

He has denied the allegations.

MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — New dietary guidelines released by the government say that some Americans may not have to cut back on eggs and salt as much as they once thought. And eating lean meat is still OK. But watch the sugary drinks. See more here.

The guidelines released Thursday back off the strictest sodium rules included in the last version, though Americans still consume too much salt. It reverses guidance on the dangers of dietary cholesterol and adds new advice on sugars.

Released every five years, the guidelines are intended to help Americans prevent disease and obesity. They inform everything from package labels to subsidized school lunches to doctors’ advice. The main message is similar to previous years: Eat your fruits and vegetables. Whole grains and seafood, too. And keep sugar, fats and salt in moderation.

MCPHERSON COUNTY -In response to reports of two recent cattle mutilations, in addition to current reward offers, Kansas Farm Bureau, along with McPherson and Harvey County Farm Bureaus, according to a media release, are offering a $3,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of individuals responsible for the deaths.

A cow was found dead and mutilated in a McPherson County pasture on Jan. 1.

A family vet conducted an autopsy and discovered there were no bullet holes and nothing was visibly wrong with the animal.

Another report confirmed a bull was killed and mutilated in Harvey County, Dec. 18.  This incident in southeast Harvey County likely occurred the night of Dec. 17.

The only conclusion was that both animal deaths were not natural.

Both livestock deaths remain under investigation.

McPherson County farmer John Shearer is also offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to anyone responsible for killing the cows.

Anyone with information should contact local law enforcement.

 

TOPEKA –– Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has sued an Iowa-based door-to-door meat sales company for violations of consumer protection laws in Kansas, according to a media release.

The attorney general filed suit in Shawnee County District Court against Christopher Maselka, and individual, and Iowa Steak Company, LLC, a/k/a Iowa Steak Company, a/k/a Iowa Steak. The company is an Iowa limited liability corporation owned by Mr. Maselka whose salesmen go door-to-door selling meat products. The allegations include two violations of the Kansas Food Advertising and Sales Practices Act and five violations of the Kansas Consumer Protection Act.

Mr. Maselka was previously prohibited from engaging in such business practices in Kansas by a 1998 court order for committing similar violations. At that time, the defendant was operating with a co-defendant, Rodney Y. Creighton, and doing business under the name America’s Choice Steak.

Schmidt reminded consumers that under Kansas law, any door-to-door sale must include a three-day right to cancel, and the salesperson must inform the consumer of this right both verbally and in writing at the time of the sale. The salesperson must also wait at least five business days to cash the consumer’s check. Anyone selling meat in Kansas is also required to have a retail meat license from the Kansas Department of Agriculture.

Iowa Steak salesmen were recently spotted making sales in the Overland Park and Lawrence areas. To report an unlawful door-to-door sale or to report contact with this individual or company, call the attorney general’s consumer protection division at (800) 432-2310 or file a complaint online at www.InYourCornerKansas.org .