Kansas City International Airport design, Josh Hawley and Medicare cuts

Help the children

Across the world, 5.9 million children die every year from preventable and treatable causes. Across the world, 289,000 women die every year from preventable pregnancy-related deaths. We can stop this.

In the last session of Congress, a bold and bipartisan bill was introduced that would reorganize and hold the United States Agency for International Development accountable for a smarter and more effective approach to saving these lives.

The Reach Every Mother and Child Act of 2015 was co-sponsored by 218 representatives and 35 senators, including our very own Rep. Kevin Yoder.

Now, the bill is back, and this time we can’t let the chance to save lives slip through the cracks. I’m calling on Yoder to co-sponsor HR 4022, the Reach Every Mother and Child Act of 2017, just like he did in 2015.

Adam Wilkerson

Lenexa

A model airport

I just flew on Southwest Airlines to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where a wonderful new terminal opened last summer.

It is spacious and well-designed. There are plenty of wide walkways, along with spacious seating in the gate area, power for everyone’s gadgets and a common area for work. There are adequate restrooms, a kids’ area, modest shopping and food.

I would recommend that Kansas City’s airport committee hop a Southwest flight to Fort Lauderdale to view the terminal. It would be such an upgrade to our airport.

I hope our committee does not muck up the chance give us a first-class facility.

Riley Davis

Kansas City

By the book

Imagine these stories: Passing off your wife as your sister so you can use her body to gain power and money. Offering up your virgin daughters to be raped by an angry mob. Sleeping with two sisters and their slaves. Using power and authority to rape women. Dismembering a prostitute.

Are these the latest Hollywood dramas? No, these are Bible stories.

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley should read his Bible before he lifts it up as an example of how to treat women. (Feb. 2, 4A, “Hawley faces criticism after blaming sex trafficking on sexual revolution”)

Women have been treated as nothing more than property since the dawn of time. I appreciate Hawley’s desire to fight sex trafficking, but I invite him to get off his high horse and get a clue.

Rev. Heather Jepsen

Warrensburg

Women and the 1960s were not the cause of sex trafficking. Men were, and men have always been the promoters of both sex and slave trafficking.

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley need only look to the sexual-abuse problems within the Missouri General Assembly. I do not see any complaints against female interns or congresswomen, but I do see a lot of old hippies now wearing suits and running for their careers.

John Nelles

Shawnee

Medicare cuts

You may have not noticed, but Medicare is under attack. Since Jan. 1, one part of coverage — physical therapy — has been greatly reduced.

Two distinct caps were placed on therapy services: In 2018, the cap is $2,010 for physical therapy and speech-language pathology service combined and $2,010 for occupational therapy services.

The therapy cap applies to all Part B outpatient therapy settings and providers, including private practices, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, outpatient rehabilitation facilities and hospital outpatient departments.

Strokes, surgeries and trauma from falls or other injuries sometimes result in patients needing extensive care by physical, occupational or speech therapists. People with debilitating conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s need extensive therapy.

Rehabilitation services are critical for seniors to maintain their independence so they can remain in their homes. Therapy also helps avoid costly nursing home care or hospitalizations that can bankrupt many.

As a member of AARP, I urge citizens to contact your legislators and let them know you are opposed to these cuts. They could be the first of many cuts meant to diminish funding for Medicare.

Robert J. Roberts

Pittsburg, Kan.

Thanks, debt

As I lay in my cot to go to sleep last night, I came upon a strange realization: There is a debt that I owe to my debt.

I first met him when I made the momentous decision to pursue my master’s degree. From there, our bond only grew stronger. As I raised him, he taught me valuable lessons about character and independence, the foundations of our country itself.

It was he who convinced me to move out of my apartment for an adventurous life on the streets. It was he who landed me my first job … in the food-service industry.

I built him, and he shaped my life in turn. This is the debt that I owe to my debt, and I don’t think I could ever repay him.

Michael Liu

Overland Park

This story was originally published February 4, 2018 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Kansas City International Airport design, Josh Hawley and Medicare cuts."