By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN

TOPEKA ― Aetna remains in hot water with the state of Kansas, which recently threatened to cancel the company’s Medicaid contract.

In late July, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment gave Aetna Better Health 10 days to resolve a laundry list of long-running problems.

Aetna gets another shot at fixing what health care providers describe as chronic issues with payment, among other concerns.

Aetna provides health insurance to around 100,000 Kansans under KanCare, the state’s privatized Medicaid system. It’s one of three companies with contracts to do so, and replaced one of the previous insurers in January.

The state health department did not provide a copy of Aetna’s compliance plan, explaining it is not yet a public document in its current unfinalized state. But in a cover letter that Aetna filed with the state on Aug. 7, says the company says it has fixed several issues and that many of the other problems “are well on their way to compliance.”

State health officials plan to meet with Aetna leaders, who asked in their letter for an in-person conversation in the event that Kansas remains unsatisfied. As for setting a new deadline for Aetna, officials intend to meet with company leaders first.

Read the original story on complaints against Aetna, and on the state’s demands

Complaints against Aetna include that the company doesn’t reimburse correctly or on time. Providers say they sometimes don’t get paid because Aetna demands advance permission for certain basic procedures. They also complain that the company hasn’t put together a complete directory of physicians and specialists that it covers.

The state’s written complaint to Aetna in July said that doctors and others struggle to secure provider credentials from the insurer, and that discrepancies in Aetna’s records mean Kansas can’t judge the adequacy of the company’s provider network for Medicaid recipients.

Aetna didn’t grant requests last week and this week for interviews, but said in an email that it will work with Kansas to “enhance” its corrective plan and “add a greater level of detail.”

Celia Llopis-Jepsen reports on consumer health and education for the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter @Celia_LJ or email her at celia (at) kcur (dot) org. 

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are longer seeking the public’s help in locating 29-year-old Deputy Derik A. Chandler or his vehicle, according to Lt. Tim Myers. 

He was reported missing Monday after being identified as a suspect in a case jointly investigated by the Wellington Police Department and the Summer County Sheriff’s Office,

Chandler’s location has been determined to be outside of the United States of America, according to Myers.

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SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are conducting a felony investigation and asking for the public’s help in locating 29-year-old Sedgwick County Deputy Derick A. Chandler.

He was reported missing Monday after being identified as a suspect in a case jointly investigated by the Wellington Police Department and the Summer County Sheriff’s Office, according to Lt. Tim Myers.

Chandler is listed as a missing person and is wanted for questioning in a felony investigation. We believe he may be a harm to himself or others, according to Myers.

Chandler was possible seen early Monday morning in Wichita driving a 2015 Dodge Charger, white in color with a black stripe. There is a 60-day temporary tag on the vehicle.

If anyone sees him, citizens should call 911 and report the location to their local law enforcement agency. Citizens should not take any action themselves, according to Myers.

BARTON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are continuing the investigation into the shooting death of a Great Bend man Tuesday night.

Just after 8:30p.m. sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a report of a disturbance and shots fired at 397 Grove Terrrace near the airport west of Great Bend, according to Sheriff Brian Bellendir.

Sheriff’s deputies and members of the Kansas Highway Patrol checked the residence and discovered the body of a 34-year-old Charles G. Rousey of Great Bend at the rear of the building, according to Bellendir. He had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Deputies were able to develop suspect information from witnesses and an “attempt to locate” was broadcast.

Members of the Great Bend Fire Department who were returning from an accident scene, had heard the broadcast and spotted the vehicle on South Main St. in Great Bend.  The fire department notified 911 dispatchers who in turn sent law enforcement to the area. Members of the Barton County Sheriff’s Office and the Great Bend Police Department stopped the vehicle on Railroad Avenue between Washington Street and Main Street. The suspect Nicholas A. Pethel, 23, of rural Great Bend  was taken into custody without incident. 

Deputies booked Pethel on a requested chargeof murder and he is being held in lieu of a $1 million bond, according to Bellendir.

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BARTON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting in Great Bend.

Just after 8:30p.m. Tuesday, sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a report of a disturbance and shots fired at 397 Grove Terrrace near the airport west of Great Bend, according to Sheriff Brian Bellendir.

Sheriff’s deputies and members of the Kansas Highway Patrol checked the residence and discovered the body of a 34-year-old white male at the rear of the building. The victim had sustained multiple gunshot wounds.  The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Deputies were able to develop suspect information from witnesses and an “attempt to locate” was broadcast.

Members of the Great Bend Fire Department who were returning from an accident scene, had heard the broadcast and spotted the vehicle on South Main St. in Great Bend.  The fire department notified 911 dispatchers who in turn sent law enforcement to the area. Members of the Barton County Sheriff’s Office and the Great Bend Police Department stopped the vehicle on Railroad Avenue between Washington Street and Main Street. The suspect Nicholas A. Pethel, 23, of rural Great Bend  was taken into custody without incident. 

Deputies booked Pethel on a requested chargeof murder and he is being held in lieu of a $1 million bond, according to Bellendir.

The name of the victim is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.  The Kansas Bureau of Investigation will be assisting with homicide investigation.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) -Police announced Wednesday that a woman’s body has been found in Arkansas after police fatally shot her estranged rifle-toting husband the day before near a popular shopping area in Kansas City, Kansas.

The body of 49-year-old Sylvia Ussery-Pearson was found Tuesday night in northwest Arkansas’ Benton County, police said during a news conference in Overland Park, Kansas, where she was from. The discovery was made hours after 51-year-old Charles Pearson, a 21-year veteran Army Ranger who had completed two combat tours in Iraq, walked into a Country Inn & Suites and told the general manager that he killed his wife.

Pearson said he was armed and heading to the nearby Legends Outlet shopping district.

Police in Kansas City, Kansas, said that when law enforcement confronted Pearson at a nearby intersection, he fired several shots at officers, who returned fire and killed him.

Ussery-Pearson had been missing since Monday after leaving her home with her husband, who lived in nearby Lenexa, Kansas. Overland Park Police Chief Frank R. Donchez Jr. said her family filed a missing person report later that day and contacted her husband on Tuesday. He agreed to be interviewed and his home and car were searched.

Donchez said Pearson later called family and friends and said he was suicidal before going to the shopping area, where the shooting happened.

A note found in a Lenexa residence later led law enforcement to his wife’s body. Donchez said her death is believed to be a homicide but the cause hasn’t been released. He said no other suspects are being sought. He said the couple had been estranged since February.

Cass County, Missouri, officials on Tuesday searched a patch of land outside of Harrisonville that belonged to U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler. Police said the reason for the search was that Ussery-Pearson’s phone had pinged on Hartzler’s land about 40 miles (64.37 kilometers) south of Kansas City.

Hartzler’s spokesman, Steve Walsh, said Wednesday the Hartzlers didn’t know the missing woman or Pearson.

Johnson County District Court online records show Charles Pearson was charged last year with misdemeanor criminal damage to property after an incident in Lenexa on Oct. 8, 2018, that referenced a woman named Sylvia Pearson, according to The Kansas City Star.

Charles Pearson, who allegedly broke a mirror, was booked into the Johnson County jail and released the next day after posting bond. The court records indicate a diversion agreement in the case was signed Nov. 28, 2018.

Donchez said he didn’t know whether Pearson had PTSD from his military service.

“We need to do more for our veterans that return from combat,” he said. “This may or may not be an unfortunate circumstance of his service.”

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Police have identified a man they fatally shot near a popular Kansas City-area shopping area after he said he had killed his wife.

Police on Wednesday said 51-year-old Charles Pearson, of nearby Johnson County, Kansas, was the man who walked into a Country Inn & Suites Tuesday and told the general manager he killed his wife. He said he was armed and heading to the nearby Legends Outlet shopping district.

Kansas City, Kansas, police spokesman Jonathon Westbrook said when law enforcement confronted Pearson at a nearby intersection, he fired several shots at officers, who returned fire and killed him.

Overland Park police said Tuesday they were searching for 49-year-old Sylvia Ussery-Pearson, who hasn’t been seen since leaving her home Monday. Ussery-Pearson is listed in 2018 property records as Pearson’s wife.

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By MARGARET STAFFORD

Kansas City, Kansas, police shot and killed a man on Tuesday who told a hotel manager that he had killed his wife and was heading to a popular shopping and restaurant area.

The “very angry and distraught” man entered the Country Inn & Suites near the Legends Outlet shopping area said he had killed his wife, said Jacob Honeycutt, general manager of the business.

“He said ‘I’m heavily armed and very dangerous. I’m going to Legends. You better call police,'” Honeycutt told The Associated Press.

The man was not armed when he entered the Inn, said Honeycutt, who tried to follow the suspect but couldn’t catch him before he got into a car and sped away, driving through stop signs before the confrontation with police.

Officer Jonathan Westbrook told The Kansas City Star the gunman was waiting at an intersection for police to arrive.

“We were able to locate him so quickly because he was stationary,” Westbrook said. “Given the information that he was heavily armed and dangerous, our officers were very tactical in how we approached the subject.”

The man raised an assault-style rifle at officers, who tried to convince him to put it down, Westbrook said. Eventually the man fired several shots at the officers and they fired back, he said.

The number of rounds fired by the unidentified gunman and officers was not immediately known. No officers or bystanders were injured.

Law enforcement authorities were investigating to determine if the man had committed any earlier crimes, Westbrook said.

Honeycutt said he and a front desk manager were the only people in the front desk area of Inn when the man arrived. He praised police for their quick response to the situation.

“I was worried about the safety of my guests and employees but also all the people in the rest of the shopping area,” he said “We wanted to try and stop them but unfortunately we couldn’t so we got ahold of the police as quickly as possible.”

The man was stopped before he made it into the Legends, which is full of stores and restaurants in a rapidly developing area in western Kansas City, Kansas. The County Inn & Suites is on a road that surrounds the shopping area, located near other businesses such as Cerner and Cabela’s and the stadium for the Sporting KC soccer team.

All the businesses were reopened and operating normally about two hours after the man was shot.

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A judge has found prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office in Kansas City, Kansas, improperly listened to recorded communications between inmates and their defense attorneys in a ruling that could upend hundreds of federal convictions and sentences.

U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson in a ruling handed down late Tuesday set up what she called a roadmap for reviewing federal cases for potential violations of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel. Robinson also found the office in contempt of court for violating her orders to preserve evidence and turn over documents to the court-appointed special master investigating the practice.

Robinson said she would impose monetary sanctions against the government as punishment.

The ruling also cited internal dysfunction in the U.S. attorney’s office, saying prosecutors distrusted current and past management “to the point of insubordination.”

SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting and searching for suspects.

Just before 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, police in the area of the 800 Block of SE Rice in Topeka heard several gunshots, according to Lt. Robert Simmons.

A few moments later, police stopped a vehicle at Interstate 70 and SE Rice Road with an adult male passenger with a gunshot wound that was determined to be life threatening by medical personnel.

The victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment of his injuries.

Police have not reported an arrest and have not identified the victim.

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