TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Powerball ticket sold in northeast Kansas is worth $1 million.

The Kansas Lottery said in a news release that the ticket matched all five white-ball numbers — 11, 13, 25, 39 and 54 — in Wednesday’s drawing but not the Powerball of 19.

Another ticket, sold in southwest Kansas, matched four of the first five numbers, plus the Powerball, to win a $10,000 prize.

Tickets in North Carolina, Puerto Rico and Texas matched all six numbers to split a $564.1 million jackpot. The jackpot goes back to $40 million for the next drawing, on Saturday.

TOPEKA – Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt and 42 other state and territorial attorneys general  asked nine petroleum companies to collaborate with their franchisees to eliminate synthetic drugs from retail locations operating under their brand names, including gas stations and convenience stores.

Synthetic drugs are chemical alternatives to cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine. They are illegal and are often just as dangerous, if not more so, than the substances they mimic. Manufacturers of synthetic drugs seek to evade state and federal law by creating chemical compounds not yet specifically regulated or prohibited in the United States. In recent years, State and federal law enforcement authorities have cracked down on synthetic drug sales in Kansas, including products commonly known as “K2″ and synthetic marijuana.

“Synthetic drugs are a dangerous and illegal attempt to use chemistry to stay one step ahead of the law,” Schmidt said. “They should not be given the cloak of legitimacy or safety by well-known brand name stores. Young Kansans are particularly vulnerable to marketing of these harmful products, which is why we are asking these reputable companies to make sure these products are not being sold on their shelves.”

In the letter sent to British Petroleum, Chevron Corporation, Citgo Petroleum Corporation, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Phillips 66, Shell Oil Company, Sunoco, and Valero Energy Corporation, the 43 attorneys general expressed concern that gas stations and convenience stores operating under brand names of reputable oil companies are selling illegal and extremely dangerous synthetic drugs, such as K2. The group urged the oil companies to enact stronger policies against the sale of synthetic drugs in retail locations to protect the public, particularly young people.

By JIM MCLEAN

Kansas hospitals are leading the push for Medicaid expansion.

But they’re not the only providers for which expansion is a critical financial issue. It’s also a priority for the safety net clinics that exist to provide free and reduced-cost care to low-income Kansans.

Two-thirds of the people who rely on the clinics live under the federal poverty line: annual income of $11,670 for an individual and $23,850 for a family of four. Virtually all of them would qualify for KanCare — the state’s privatized Medicaid program — under expansion.

“KanCare expansion is a big issue for us,” says Denise Cyzman, the still relatively new executive director of the Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved.

Cyzman was hired last fall to succeed Cathy Harding, who left to become chief executive of the Wyandotte Health Foundation. Prior to taking the KAMU job, Cyzman was a vice president for the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan.

The KAMU clinics provided care to more than 250,000 people in 2014. However, because many patients couldn’t afford to pay their bills, the clinics ended the year with $44 million in uncompensated care on their books.

Expanding KanCare eligibility to low-income adults would greatly reduce that financial burden, Cyzman says.

“It could generate all the way up to the $44 million,” she says. “But even if we get only a portion of that covered through KanCare, it would be a tremendous economic boost for our clinics.”

The clinics have estimated that expansion would lower their uncompensated costs by at least $25 million, Cyzman says.

Jason Wescoe, chief executive of the Health Partnership Clinic, says KanCare expansion would generate another $1.5 million in revenue for his Olathe-based clinic, which has an annual operating budget of about $5 million.

“Putting $1.5 million into this organization means I hire more doctors, hire more nurses and open more clinics,” Wescoe says. “It seems so simple from where I sit.”

But the politics of the issue is anything but simple.

The connection between Medicaid expansion and President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act has created widespread opposition to it among Republican governors. Some have negotiated alternative plans that use federal Medicaid dollars to expand access to private coverage and require recipients to share in the cost of their care. But several of those proposals have run into opposition from GOP legislators.

In Kansas, Gov. Sam Brownback and Republican legislative leaders have so far refused to consider expansion. The Kansas Hospital Association is crafting a proposal that it hopes will appeal to the governor and his fellow conservatives.

The safety net clinics are ready to help lobby for the KHA plan, Cyzman says. But based on preliminary conversations with legislators, she doesn’t expect it to be an easy sell.

“There are more and more (legislators) who say, ‘Well, we’re interested in thinking about it, but we’re really concerned about how the state is going to pay for it,’” Cyzman says. “Until we can figure that out, it’s going to be really challenging to get it through the Legislature.”

The federal government has promised to pay the full cost of a state’s Medicaid expansion through 2016 and at least 90 percent after that. A study commissioned by the Kansas Hospital Association estimated expansion would cost the state an additional $312 million through 2020.

An expansion bill, House Bill 2270, introduced by a committee controlled by moderate Republicans would give the secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment the authority to levy fees on hospitals and other providers to offset the state’s portion of the expansion cost.

It’s not known what financing mechanism, if any, will be included in the hospital association’s bill, which could be introduced as soon as this week.

Fending off budget cuts

The same budget issues that have legislators concerned about the cost of Medicaid expansion are threatening the approximately $8.2 million in funding that safety net clinics receive from the state.

A bill signed Tuesday to plug a $344 million hold in the state’s current budget included a cut of $254,000 for the clinics.

But lawmakers are resisting Brownback’s plan to reduce funding to the clinics by another $378,000 in the next budget cycle.

Members of the House Social Services Budget Committee recently voted to restore the proposed cuts and instead take the money out of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s administrative budget.

“They (the clinics) do exceptionally well with the limited funding that they have,” said Rep. Kristey Williams, a Republican from Augusta, as she made the motion to restore the funding.

The bipartisan legislative support the clinics historically have enjoyed is due to the “great work” they do, Cyzman says. But she says she isn’t taking it for granted that support will be enough to spare the clinics as lawmakers struggle to balance the budget in the face of plummeting tax revenues.

“We don’t feel like we’re out of the woods at all,” she says.

Filling the oral health gap

As if Medicaid expansion and the budget crisis weren’t enough, Cyzman stepped into another long-simmering debate when she accepted the KAMU job. The association is a leading member of a coalition pushing for a change in state law to allow for the licensure of a new kind of mid-level dental provider.

Opposition from the Kansas Dental Association has effectively blocked consideration of the mid-level proposal for several years.

Kevin Robertson, KDA executive director, has said repeatedly that the training that dental hygienists would be required to complete to become mid-level practitioners “is simply not adequate” to master the restorative and surgical procedures the proposed changes would allow them to perform.

But Cyzman is among those who maintain that licensing mid-level providers and requiring them to work under the general supervision of dentists is no different from what the state allows doctor-supervised advanced practice registered nurses to do: diagnose and treat patients.

“Nurse practitioners have freed up doctors,” she says. “We can do the same for dentists. We can increase access to care and give our dentists the opportunity to provide the higher-level, complex care they are trained to do.”

Several safety net clinics offer dental services. But recruiting dentists is difficult. Licensing mid-level practitioners would expand the recruiting pool, Cyzman says, and help to alleviate a documented shortage of dental providers in 95 of the state’s 105 counties.

Editor’s note: The coalition advocating for licensure of mid-level dental providers is supported by the Kansas Health Foundation, which also provides most of the funding for the Kansas Health Institute, the parent organization of the editorially independent KHI News Service.

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

Washington, D.C. On Wednesday evening, the House of Representatives passed S. 1, the Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act with a strong bipartisan vote of 270-152 to immediately authorize the construction and operation of the Keystone XL Pipeline. S. 1 previously passed the Senate by an equally strong bipartisan vote of 62-36.After years of delays, Congress will finally send a bill to the president’s desk approving the pipeline. After passage of the bill, Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins (KS-02) released the following statement:

“For six years, the Obama Administration has delayed the Keystone XL Pipeline which undoubtedly would have numerous benefits for our country and is supported by a strong majority of Americans. It is time for the President to say yes to jobs, yes to energy, and put the American people ahead of politics, and reconsider his veto threat.”

What you need to know about the Keystone XL Pipeline:

It has been over 6 years since backers of the Keystone XL pipeline first submitted an application to the U.S. State Department on September 19, 2008.

The State Department has conducted five reviews, encompassing over 22,000 pages, which show the Keystone XL pipeline is in the best interest for our economy and the environment.

The latest and final environmental review, released on January 31, 2014, concluded that the project would not increase carbon emissions and confirmed the project would be better for safety and the environment. The State Department report also confirmed that construction of the pipeline would support approximately 42,100 jobs.

HUTCHINSON – A Kansas teenager was arrested following an injury accident just after 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday in Reno County.

Hutchinson Police reported a vehicle driven by Lindsey Reger, 17, Hutchinson was attempting to make a left turn at the intersection of 5th and Adams.

The vehicle pulled into the path of a car driven by Robert Cook, 22, Wichita.

Reger was transported to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center where she was treated and then released into the custody of the sheriff’s department.

Officials say Reger was cited for failure to yield on a left turn, for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Cook was not injured.

By Alyssa Scott

KU Statehouse Wire Service

TOPEKA – Traditionally, voter turnout is substantially lower during off-cycle spring elections than regular fall elections. The result is fewer people vote on city and school board issues than during presidential or mid-term elections.

According to Secretary of State Kris Kobach, between 2008-2013, local spring election voter turnout ranged from a low of 6.2 percent in Sedgwick County to a high of 56 percent in Sherman County. In comparison, fall election turnout during that same time period ranged from 37.3 percent to 85.8 percent. According to the Sedgwick County Election Office, about 67 percent of registered voters participated in fall 2012 elections.

Supporters of Senate Bill 171 said moving municipal elections to the fall of even-numbered years and making them partisan would increase voter turnout and make it more convenient for voters. Under the bill, primary party elections would occur in August prior to a November general election.

During the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee hearing Wednesday, seven bill proponents testified for more than 50 minutes as two opponents were allowed to testify in the final 15 minutes of the meeting. Committee chair Sen. Mitch Holmes (R-St. John) said additional opponent testimony will be allowed Thursday.

Clay Barker, executive director of the Kansas Republican Party, said he supports SB 171 because it is a way to encourage more people to vote in city and school board elections.

“There is a lack of citizen participation, and it’s an amazingly large amount of money to spend with very few voters’ input into it, whether it’s cities or school districts,” Barker said. “What we would like to see in this bill is aligning the spring and fall elections so all the voters turn out and they get to vote on all the positions.”

Joy Eakins, a Wichita Public Schools Board of Education member, testified on behalf of the bill, saying research shows that simply moving elections from April to November raises the participation rate by 8 to 9 percent. She said while it is important to increase voter turnout there are other parts of SB 171 she wants changed.

In addition to making municipal elections partisan and holding them in the fall, SB 171 would allow county election officers to require school districts to schedule an in-service day so that school buildings are available as polling locations during elections. Eakins said she did not support that part of the bill because taking time from schools is detrimental to students and teachers.

“You’re asking a person who has no accountability to the community (county election officer) for the education of their students or for what happens in a school day to be able to commandeer buildings that belong to students, buildings that were built by the taxpayers of our communities to educate their students,” Eakins said. “They do a great job, but they shouldn’t have a say over when school’s in session.”

Mark Tallman, associate executive director for advocacy at the Kansas Association of School Boards, opposes the bill and expressed concerns with adding partisanship into municipal elections.

“Our members have repeatedly voted that they do not favor a change in law for several reasons,” Tallman said. “We hear from local boards, and they believe we are better served by keeping education somewhat nonpartisan, even though in many cases people do know that parties can get involved.”

In a news release last week, committee chair Holmes said SB 171 would help reduce the influence teachers unions have in local elections. He said based on research, teachers unions have a majority in the current off-cycle elections because they’re able to organize while overall voter turnout is low.

“The information that we have showed that the timing of the election is the single biggest variable that affects voter turnout,” Holmes said. “There are other peripheral things that can be done, but that one by itself is the most effective.”

However, Eakins said it makes sense for teachers to be highly involved in the municipal elections.

“I can’t say to what extent they control the elections, but certainly teachers would be interested in voting because it’s something they’re passionate about, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing,” Eakins said. “It’s just who they are.”

The Senate Ethics and Elections Committee will hear from opponents of the bill when it convenes at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.

Alyssa Scott is a University of Kansas junior from Wichita majoring in journalism and French.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas attorney general’s office told a state board that it didn’t have enough lawyers to provide routine legal advice to the board.

In response, the Kansas Underground Utility Notification Board says it will seek free outside legal advice.

Spokeswoman Jennifer Rapp says attorney general’s office would represent the board in a specific legal matter, such as a lawsuit. But she says the office can’t provide routine legal advice because it doesn’t have the resources.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the board oversees Kansas One Call, which educates the public and fields calls about avoiding utility lines when digging. It works closely with the Kansas Corporation Commission, which regulates utilities.

The KCC says it will arrange for a lawyer to provide free representation to the board in the short term.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Board of Regents has appointed a committee to study how legalization of same-sex marriage could affect state universities.

Regent Fred Logan said Wednesday he expects the U.S. Supreme Court to issue a ruling that will “at a minimum” require states to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. Or he says the court could strike down state bans on the marriages.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports  if that happens, universities will have to consider issues including health insurance and benefits for employees and student housing policies.

Several Kansas counties are granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples but the state is not recognizing those marriages.