RobyLane Kelley
Editorial Assistant

Behind the Epidemic 

 Supply and demand is not a foreign concept; High demand for a product with low supply means the product seller can mark up its prices. The need to buy out of necessity continues, which includes housing. Many recent studies have shown Kansas City Metro lacks the number of dwellings – rentals, and otherwise – to adequately house its citizens within city boundaries.

The Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) stated in its June 25  review, that Kansas City has yet to recover, since the 2008 recession. MARC suggests that Kansas City has  “underbuilt” since this recession — resulting in a shortage of anywhere from 12,000 to 24,000 dwellings.

This study says while the metro does continue to build roughly 6,700 units annually, this will not be sufficient to close the gap. Without factoring in population growth, MARC says the city would need to build at least 10,000 units per year for a decade to meet  current needs.

Crunching the Numbers

Homeowners continue to  struggle as well — comparing house-hunting for first-time homebuyers to   searching for an oasis in the middle of a housing desert. According to Redfin, in May 2019, the average cost of a home in Kansas City, Mo., was $208,000, with 869 homes  sold. This same data states that May 2024 saw homes  sold for an average of $280,000, with 760 homes sold. 

comparatively, in Kansas City, Kan., May 2019 data shows 177 houses sold for an average of $145,750. May 2024 shows 127  homes sold in said area for an average of $225,000.

With supply low and demand high, rent and home prices are skyrocketing. However, minimum wage has also risen during this time. In 2019, the minimum wage in Missouri was $8.60, and as of January 2024, it now sits at $12.30. Although, data from the MIT Living Wage Calculator suggests this increase is not livable. This data is broken down by living expenses including rent, food and medical, among others.

The livable wage provided with its data – last updated in February 2024 – based on the number of adults and children, which occupy a household. The foundation of this data states that one working adult with no children works at a poverty wage of $7.24, a minimum wage of $12.30 and a livable wage of $21.70. Nearing the Kansas border, some Missouri citizens may be working for Kansas’s Federal minimum wage at $7.25 – only a penny above the previously stated poverty wage.

Working Toward Solutions

Kansas City has generated programs — including grants — to help citizens find affordable housing. Many of these grants are for property owners, so they can build or revitalize their area. These grants include: Rebuild KC, Choice Neighborhood – one of the grants, which helped fund Samuel Rodgers Place and the Housing Trust Fund.

 A housing application is available for Kansas City, Mo., residents called the Public Housing Program through the Housing Authority of Kansas City (HAKC). According to its website, eligibility will be based on “annual gross income, U.S. citizenship or eligible immigration status, local federal preference and criminal record.”

This local federal preference is separated into three groups. 

1: Working, Work Training Program, Elderly and Disabled

2: Homeless, Job Training Program, Housing Factor and Rent Burden

3: Non-Preference

After “initial” eligibility is met, HAKC will request additional documentation to ensure tenants will meet qualifications for the environment they are working to cultivate. Space is limited through the program as the number of units it operates through is over 1,900.

Federal grants for housing, eligibility information and applications can be found at https://www.usgrants.org/missouri/90511-kansas-city-missouri-housing-grants.

The Kansas baseball program turned in a solid season in 2024 as the Jayhawks turned in a 31-23 record that ended with a semifinal loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Tournament semifinal.

There were several standouts for the Jayhawks this past season and many of them have already been selected in the 2024 MLB Draft. Kansas wasn’t represented on Day 1 of the draft, but on Day 2 (Monday), the Seattle Mariners selected pitcher Hunter Cranton in the third round with the 91st overall pick and the Philadelphia Phillies grabbed catcher Kodey Shojinaga in the sixth round with the 192nd overall pick.

Four more Jayhawks came off of the board during Tuesday’s Day 3, which were rounds 11-20.

Relief pitcher Ethan Lanthier was selected by the New York Mets in the 12th round with the 353rd overall pick. Lanthier appeared in 20 games this past season, and was credited with a 4-0 record while posting a 4.54 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP and held batters to a .216 average.

The Philadelphia Phillies selected their second Jayhawk of the draft as they grabbed relief pitcher Tegan Cain 402nd overall. Cain appeared in 27 games (one start) this past season, and was credited with a 1-2 record while posting a 5.94 ERA, a 1.65 WHIP and held batters to a .298 average.

Catcher Ben Hartl was selected in the 14th round by the Texas Rangers with the 435th overall pick. Hartl logged a .309 batting average on 47 hits, 38 runs, 35 RBIs and 11 home runs and doubles.

The Los Angeles Dodgers picked starting pitcher Evan Shaw in the 16th round with the 490th overall pick. Shaw appeared in 18 games (10 starts) this past season, and was credited with a 3-1 record while posting a 5.10 ERA, a 1.49 WHIP and held batters to a .248 average.

TOPEKA — The Kansas Legislature and Gov. Laura Kelly adopted a potentially unconstitutional budget provision forbidding pharmaceutical manufacturers from inhibiting the sale of discounted medications to pharmacies such as CVS or Walgreens under contract with hospitals or clinics.

Two drugmakers have challenged a proviso tucked into Senate Bill 28 — signed by the governor in April — that said the companies couldn’t limit the ability of pharmacies working with eligible health providers from acquiring outpatient prescription drugs at discounts of 25% or more through a federal cost-cutting program.

The objective of the federal 340B program has been to offer indirect financial benefits to the country’s safety-net health providers by lowering drug prices. Many of Kansas’ financially strapped rural hospitals take part in the program.

“Unfortunately, drug manufacturers have recently started decimating the 340B drug discount program by limiting the number of pharmacies a hospital may contract with,” said Chad Austin, president of the Kansas Hospital Association. “These actions are jeopardizing Kansans’ ability to access needed prescriptions and other vital health services. Fortunately, Kansas lawmakers recognized the drug manufacturers’ harmful actions and have appropriately responded to ensure the further reduction of the 340B drug discount program is paused.”

After adopting SB 28 during this year’s session, however, the Legislature had second thoughts about leveraging the Kansas Consumer Protection Act against drug manufacturers at this time. Under House Bill 2551, in an apparent victory for drugmakers, the Legislature told Attorney General Kris Kobach to delay enforcement of SB 28 until the U.S. Supreme Court settled questions about obligations of drug manufacturers in the 340B program.

Kelly, however, line-item vetoed that part of HB 2551 in May. She said the Legislature’s follow-up maneuver was “premature and contradictory to the protections” in SB 28.

In early July, pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca and AbbVie filed lawsuits against the state of Kansas.

The companies asserted SB 28 enabled off-site, for-profit pharmacy chains operating under contract with Kansas clinics and hospitals to buy the manufacturers’ drugs at discounted prices. The plaintiffs claimed Congress didn’t intend for these pharmacies to be covered by the low-cost program.

Wichita attorney Michael Jones, who was among at least seven lawyers working for plaintiffs in the AstraZeneca suit, said the budget provision in SB 28 was in conflict with the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution. Jones and his colleagues said prior rulings in federal court made clear the federal 340B statute “does not obligate manufacturers to deliver discounted drugs to unlimited contract pharmacies.”

“No state may engraft new, costly obligations under state law onto an existing federal benefits program, especially not one like the 340B program that involves nationally uniform standards and exclusive enforcement by federal agencies,” the AstraZeneca’s attorneys said.

The company’s lawyers claimed SB 28 was contrary to federal patent law, violated the contracts and takings clauses of the U.S. Constitution and broke the “one-subject rule” in the Kansas Constitution. The single-subject mandate was designed to prevent legislators from “logrolling” unrelated matters into a single bill. In terms of drug manufacturers, AstraZeneca said, SB 28 created new substantive requirements “not purely a matter of appropriations.”

A spokesperson for the Kansas attorney general didn’t respond to a request for comment on the lawsuits seeking to nullify the prescription drug portion of SB 28.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment says the federal program has been an instrumental tool of health clinics and hospitals seeking to stretch resources as far as possible while providing outpatient medications to covered entities at significantly reduced prices.