PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Incendiary devices were set off Monday at two ballot drop boxes — one in Portland and another in nearby Vancouver, Washington — destroying hundreds of ballots in what one official called a “direct attack on democracy” about a week before a heated Election Day.

The early morning fire at the drop box in Portland was extinguished quickly thanks to a suppression system inside the box as well as a nearby security guard, police said, and just three ballots were damaged there.

But within a few hours, another fire was discovered at a transit center drop box across the Columbia River in Vancouver. Vancouver is the biggest city in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, the site of what is expected to be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/oregon-washington-house-congress-election-2024-4b0c35b5c2ed1d55eb037a1d1c0d3cdd">one of the closest U.S. House races</a>&nbsp;in the country, between first-term Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican challenger Joe Kent.

The ballot box in Vancouver also had a fire suppression system inside, but that failed to prevent hundreds of ballots from burning, said Greg Kimsey, the longtime elected auditor in Clark County, Washington, which includes Vancouver. He urged voters who dropped their ballots in the transit center box after 11 a.m. Saturday to contact his office for a replacement ballot.

“Heartbreaking,” Kimsey said. “It’s a direct attack on democracy.”

The office will be increasing how frequently it collects ballots and changing collection times to the evening, Kimsey said, to keep the ballot boxes from remaining full of ballots overnight when similar crimes are considered more likely to occur.

The county also decided late Monday to hire workers through a staffing agency to monitor all of its drop boxes 24 hours a day until the election is over, Kimsey said. The workers will have instructions to simply observe the ballot boxes and not confront anyone. Instead, they will call 911 if they see anything suspicious, he said.

Ballot drop boxes have faced increasing criticism from Republicans and have been the focus of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-covid-technology-health-arizona-e1b49d2311bf900f44fa5c6dac406762?utm_source=copy&amp;utm_medium=share">baseless right-wing conspiracy theories</a>&nbsp;in recent years, tied to former President Donald Trump's lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him. An&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/voting-rights-2022-midterm-elections-covid-health-wisconsin-c61fa93a12a1a51d6d9f4e0a21fa3b75?utm_source=copy&amp;utm_medium=share">Associated Press survey of state election officials</a>&nbsp;across the U.S. found that there were no widespread issues with drop boxes in 2020, and none that could have affected the results.

Six states have banned ballot drop boxes since 2020: Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina and South Dakota, according to research by the Voting Rights Lab, which advocates for expanded voting access. Other states have restricted their use, including Ohio and Iowa, which now permits only one drop box per county, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

Washington and Oregon, which are both vote-by-mail states, have long used ballot drop boxes.

Authorities said at a news conference in Portland that enough material from the incendiary devices was recovered to show that the two fires Monday were connected — and that they were also connected to an Oct. 8 incident, when an incendiary device was placed at a different ballot drop box in Vancouver. No ballots were damaged in that incident.

Surveillance images captured a Volvo pulling up to a drop box in Portland, Oregon, just before security personnel nearby discovered a fire inside the box on Monday, Portland Police Bureau spokesman Mike Benner told a news conference. The incendiary devices were attached to the outside of the boxes.

The fire suppression systems inside the ballot drop boxes in Washington and Oregon were designed to activate when the temperature inside reaches a certain point, coating ballots with a fire-suppressing powder.

The system appeared to have worked in the Portland drop box, and security staffers were nearby to help put out the fire. Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott said the county has contracted with private security officers to have “roving patrols” that drive around the county 24 hours a day and “put eyes” on all drop boxes.

He said one of the guards was at the county elections office, heard what sounded like a blast — likely the activation of the fire suppression system — and called police.

For unknown reasons, the system failed to prevent the destruction of hundreds of ballots in Vancouver.

Gluesenkamp Perez said in a statement that she is requesting an overnight law enforcement presence posted at all ballot drop boxes in Clark County through Election Day.

“Southwest Washington cannot risk a single vote being lost to arson and political violence,” her statement said.

In a video posted on the social platform X, Kent also condemned the “cowardly act of terrorism.” He said he trusted law enforcement to find out who was responsible, urged voters to make sure their ballots are counted and said he continues to have faith in the ballot drop box system in Washington.

“No one should be intimidated,” Kent said.

Voters were encouraged to check their ballot status online at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.votewa.gov/">www.votewa.gov</a>&nbsp;to track its return status. If a returned ballot is not marked as “received,” voters can print a replacement ballot or visit their local elections department for a replacement, the Secretary of State’s office said.

John Burnside, 68, said he and his wife dropped off their ballots at the Vancouver box Sunday afternoon and learned about the fire the next morning on the news. He checked the status of their ballots, did not see that they had been received by elections officials, and requested new ones.

They now plan to either mail their ballots or deliver them in person, he said.

“I’m certainly in favor of in-person voting simply because you know your ballot goes through right then,” he said. “It may be extra work but it does add a level of security.”

Officials in Portland were able to identify the three voters whose ballots were damaged and planned to contact them and provide replacement ballots. The Multnomah County sheriff's office said it would be increasing uniformed and plainclothes patrols around the drop boxes.

Monday afternoon, voters dropped off their ballots at the new drop box that replaced the one that had been set on fire in Portland. Pam Parnell said the incident shocked her.

“It just seems so wrong,” said Parnell, who was dropping off her ballot. “We’ve worked for over 200 years to have a country and have voting.”

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said in a statement: “Voter intimidation or any criminal act to undermine the upcoming election is un-American and will not be tolerated."

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said the state would not tolerate threats or acts of violence meant to derail voting.

“I strongly denounce any acts of terror that aim to disrupt lawful and fair elections in Washington state,” he said.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said state and local elections officials were fully dedicated to ensuring every vote is counted accurately.

“This was a violent attack on democracy, and we will do everything to keep our election system strong and secure in Washington,” Inslee said in a statement. “There will be 24-hour enhanced security around ballot drop-off locations.”

In Phoenix last week, officials said roughly five ballots were destroyed and others damaged when a fire was set in a drop box at a U.S. Postal Service station there.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1730151562414.png" alt="Suspect vehicle is described as a black or dark-colored 2001-2004 Volvo S-60. The vehicle does not have a front license plate, but it does have an unknown rear plate.-photo FBI" />
 <figcaption>Suspect vehicle is described as a black or dark-colored 2001-2004 Volvo S-60. The vehicle does not have a front license plate, but it does have an unknown rear plate.-photo FBI</figcaption>
 </figure>PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Incendiary devices were set off Monday at two ballot drop boxes — one in Portland and another in nearby Vancouver, Washington — destroying hundreds of ballots in what one official called a “direct attack on democracy” about a week before a heated Election Day.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1730165077840.png" alt="Photo FBI" />
 <figcaption>Photo FBI</figcaption>
 </figure>The early morning fire at the drop box in Portland was extinguished quickly thanks to a suppression system inside the box as well as a nearby security guard, police said, and just three ballots were damaged there.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Breaking: FBI Portland statement regarding response to incidents in Vancouver, Wa, and Portland today. <a href="https://twitter.com/VancouverPDUSA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@vancouverpdusa</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PortlandPolice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@portlandpolice</a> <a href="https://t.co/tCely668te">pic.twitter.com/tCely668te</a>&mdash; FBI Portland (@FBIPortland) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBIPortland/status/1850981148702261730?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>But within a few hours, another fire was discovered at a transit center drop box across the Columbia River in Vancouver. Vancouver is the biggest city in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, the site of what is expected to be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/oregon-washington-house-congress-election-2024-4b0c35b5c2ed1d55eb037a1d1c0d3cdd">one of the closest U.S. House races</a>&nbsp;in the country, between first-term Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican challenger Joe Kent.The ballot box in Vancouver also had a fire suppression system inside, but that failed to prevent hundreds of ballots from burning, said Greg Kimsey, the longtime elected auditor in Clark County, Washington, which includes Vancouver. He urged voters who dropped their ballots in the transit center box after 11 a.m. Saturday to contact his office for a replacement ballot.“Heartbreaking,” Kimsey said. “It’s a direct attack on democracy.”The office will be increasing how frequently it collects ballots and changing collection times to the evening, Kimsey said, to keep the ballot boxes from remaining full of ballots overnight when similar crimes are considered more likely to occur.The county also decided late Monday to hire workers through a staffing agency to monitor all of its drop boxes 24 hours a day until the election is over, Kimsey said. The workers will have instructions to simply observe the ballot boxes and not confront anyone. Instead, they will call 911 if they see anything suspicious, he said.Ballot drop boxes have faced increasing criticism from Republicans and have been the focus of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-covid-technology-health-arizona-e1b49d2311bf900f44fa5c6dac406762?utm_source=copy&amp;utm_medium=share">baseless right-wing conspiracy theories</a>&nbsp;in recent years, tied to former President Donald Trump's lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him. An&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/voting-rights-2022-midterm-elections-covid-health-wisconsin-c61fa93a12a1a51d6d9f4e0a21fa3b75?utm_source=copy&amp;utm_medium=share">Associated Press survey of state election officials</a>&nbsp;across the U.S. found that there were no widespread issues with drop boxes in 2020, and none that could have affected the results.Six states have banned ballot drop boxes since 2020: Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina and South Dakota, according to research by the Voting Rights Lab, which advocates for expanded voting access. Other states have restricted their use, including Ohio and Iowa, which now permits only one drop box per county, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.Washington and Oregon, which are both vote-by-mail states, have long used ballot drop boxes.Authorities said at a news conference in Portland that enough material from the incendiary devices was recovered to show that the two fires Monday were connected — and that they were also connected to an Oct. 8 incident, when an incendiary device was placed at a different ballot drop box in Vancouver. No ballots were damaged in that incident.Surveillance images captured a Volvo pulling up to a drop box in Portland, Oregon, just before security personnel nearby discovered a fire inside the box on Monday, Portland Police Bureau spokesman Mike Benner told a news conference. The incendiary devices were attached to the outside of the boxes.The FBI was also investigating.The fire suppression systems inside the ballot drop boxes in Washington and Oregon were designed to activate when the temperature inside reaches a certain point, coating ballots with a fire-suppressing powder.The system appeared to have worked in the Portland drop box, and security staffers were nearby to help put out the fire. Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott said the county has contracted with private security officers to have “roving patrols” that drive around the county 24 hours a day and “put eyes” on all drop boxes.He said one of the guards was at the county elections office, heard what sounded like a blast — likely the activation of the fire suppression system — and called police.For unknown reasons, the system failed to prevent the destruction of hundreds of ballots in Vancouver.Gluesenkamp Perez said in a statement that she is requesting an overnight law enforcement presence posted at all ballot drop boxes in Clark County through Election Day.“Southwest Washington cannot risk a single vote being lost to arson and political violence,” her statement said.In a video posted on the social platform X, Kent also condemned the “cowardly act of terrorism.” He said he trusted law enforcement to find out who was responsible, urged voters to make sure their ballots are counted and said he continues to have faith in the ballot drop box system in Washington.“No one should be intimidated,” Kent said.Voters were encouraged to check their ballot status online at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.votewa.gov/">www.votewa.gov</a>&nbsp;to track its return status. If a returned ballot is not marked as “received,” voters can print a replacement ballot or visit their local elections department for a replacement, the Secretary of State’s office said.John Burnside, 68, said he and his wife dropped off their ballots at the Vancouver box Sunday afternoon and learned about the fire the next morning on the news. He checked the status of their ballots, did not see that they had been received by elections officials, and requested new ones.They now plan to either mail their ballots or deliver them in person, he said.“I’m certainly in favor of in-person voting simply because you know your ballot goes through right then,” he said. “It may be extra work but it does add a level of security.”Officials in Portland were able to identify the three voters whose ballots were damaged and planned to contact them and provide replacement ballots. The Multnomah County sheriff's office said it would be increasing uniformed and plainclothes patrols around the drop boxes.Monday afternoon, voters dropped off their ballots at the new drop box that replaced the one that had been set on fire in Portland. Pam Parnell said the incident shocked her.“It just seems so wrong,” said Parnell, who was dropping off her ballot. “We’ve worked for over 200 years to have a country and have voting.”Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said in a statement: “Voter intimidation or any criminal act to undermine the upcoming election is un-American and will not be tolerated."Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said the state would not tolerate threats or acts of violence meant to derail voting.“I strongly denounce any acts of terror that aim to disrupt lawful and fair elections in Washington state,” he said.Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said state and local elections officials were fully dedicated to ensuring every vote is counted accurately.“This was a violent attack on democracy, and we will do everything to keep our election system strong and secure in Washington,” Inslee said in a statement. “There will be 24-hour enhanced security around ballot drop-off locations.”In Phoenix last week, officials said roughly five ballots were destroyed and others damaged when a fire was set in a drop box at a U.S. Postal Service station there.___

FBI: Fires set in drop boxes destroy hundreds of ballots

By ALICIA BOOR Cottonwood Extension District

Make plans to attend the Central Kansas Beef Summit on Tuesday, November 19th, 2024, from 9:00 am – 3:15 pm. The event will be highlighted by a presentation on managing cold stress in livestock and calving preparedness. This presentation is given by KSU Beef Extension Veterinarian AJ Tarpoff.

In addition to Dr. Tarpoff, the program will offer breakout sessions where attendees can pick and choose which topics apply to them. This year’s breakout topics will cover fence law &amp; leases, livestock risk protection insurance, strategies for managing woody encroachment, trees and brush, and feed testing techniques.

The day will conclude with a presentation by the staff at the Kansas Agriculture Mediation Services.

The summit will be held at the Ellsworth Health &amp; Recreation Center located at 221 West Douglas Ave, Ellsworth KS 67439. This program will be a collaboration among numerous K-State Research and Extension districts and will give producers a better chance to not only hear from industry leaders, but to also take part in conversation with one another.  

Make sure to RSVP by November 12th to reserve a meal. The cost to attend is $10 or late registration will be $15 at the door.

For more information on the event, or to register, please call Livestock Production Agent Clint Laflin at 785-483-3157 or send him an email at cllaflin@ksu.edu. This event has been generously sponsored by several agribusinesses in collaboration with K-State Research and Extension Districts, Midway, Central KS, Cottonwood, Midway, River Valley, Phillips/Rooks, and Post Rock. We look forward to you joining us!

Alicia Boor is an Agriculture and Natural Resources agent in the Cottonwood District (which includes Barton and Ellis counties) for K-State Research and Extension. You can contact her by e-mail at aboor@ksu.edu or calling 620-793-1910.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/10/1698682262753.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>By ALICIA BOOR Cottonwood Extension DistrictMake plans to attend the Central Kansas Beef Summit on Tuesday, November 19th, 2024, from 9:00 am – 3:15 pm. The event will be highlighted by a presentation on managing cold stress in livestock and calving preparedness. This presentation is given by KSU Beef Extension Veterinarian AJ Tarpoff.In addition to Dr. Tarpoff, the program will offer breakout sessions where attendees can pick and choose which topics apply to them. This year’s breakout topics will cover fence law &amp; leases, livestock risk protection insurance, strategies for managing woody encroachment, trees and brush, and feed testing techniques.The day will conclude with a presentation by the staff at the Kansas Agriculture Mediation Services.The summit will be held at the Ellsworth Health &amp; Recreation Center located at 221 West Douglas Ave, Ellsworth KS 67439. This program will be a collaboration among numerous K-State Research and Extension districts and will give producers a better chance to not only hear from industry leaders, but to also take part in conversation with one another.  Make sure to RSVP by November 12th to reserve a meal. The cost to attend is $10 or late registration will be $15 at the door.For more information on the event, or to register, please call Livestock Production Agent Clint Laflin at 785-483-3157 or send him an email at cllaflin@ksu.edu. This event has been generously sponsored by several agribusinesses in collaboration with K-State Research and Extension Districts, Midway, Central KS, Cottonwood, Midway, River Valley, Phillips/Rooks, and Post Rock. We look forward to you joining us!Alicia Boor is an Agriculture and Natural Resources agent in the Cottonwood District (which includes Barton and Ellis counties) for K-State Research and Extension. You can contact her by e-mail at aboor@ksu.edu or calling 620-793-1910.

BOOR: Central Kanas Beef Summit Program to be hosted in Ellsworth

WICHITA -&nbsp;
















The Hays High boys soccer team pulled off the upset Monday night in the first round of the KSHSAA 5A Regional. The 11-seeded Indians defeated No. 6 seed Bishop Carroll 2-1.

Henry Speno and Cooper Johnson scored first half goals, Johnson's coming in the final 20 seconds of the first half to give the Indians a 2-1 halftime lead.

With the win, Hays improved to 9-8-0.&nbsp; Bishop Carroll ended their season with a&nbsp; 10-6-1 mark.

Hays advances to Thursday's regional final where they will face No. 3 seed Topeka West at
the Hummer Sports Park in Topeka at 4pm.





Hays PostWICHITA -&nbsp;
















The Hays High boys soccer team pulled off the upset Monday night in the first round of the KSHSAA 5A Regional. The 11-seeded Indians defeated No. 6 seed Bishop Carroll 2-1.Henry Speno and Cooper Johnson scored first half goals, Johnson's coming in the final 20 seconds of the first half to give the Indians a 2-1 halftime lead.With the win, Hays improved to 9-8-0.&nbsp; Bishop Carroll ended their season with a&nbsp; 10-6-1 mark.Hays advances to Thursday's regional final where they will face No. 3 seed Topeka West at
the Hummer Sports Park in Topeka at 4pm.

⚽ HHS boys upset Bishop Carroll in 5A regional opener

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/ariana-figueroa/">ARIANA FIGUEROA</a>&nbsp;AND&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/ashley-murray/">ASHLEY MURRAY</a>&nbsp;

The closing of the polls and end of mail-in voting kick off a nearly three-month process before the next president of the United States is sworn in on Inauguration Day in January. New guardrails were enacted by Congress in 2022 to more fully protect the presidential transition, following the Jan. 6, 2021 mob attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters and a failed scheme to install fake electors.

But even before that shift to a new chief executive begins, a presidential victor is unlikely to be announced election night or even the following day.

It’s a result that will possibly take days to determine, given tight margins expected in seven swing states. Officials needed four days to count all the votes to determine President Joe Biden the victor of the 2020 presidential election.

In states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the law does not allow that process to begin for millions of mail-in ballots until Election Day. Other states allow pre-processing of ballots.

Trey Grayson, Kentucky’s former Republican secretary of state, said ballot authentication could be on different timelines across the country after voting ends on Election Day.

“We have 50 states, plus D.C., that pretty much all do it differently,” Grayson, who served as president of the National Association of Secretaries of State, told reporters Friday on a call of bipartisan former state election officials who are working to explain the process to the public.

It could mean “in a very close election that we don’t know on election night who the president is or who controls the House or the Senate, but we should feel confident over the next couple of days, as we work through that, that we’re going to get there,” he said.

Those delays, which former President Donald Trump seized on to spread the baseless lie that the election was stolen from him, are expected again in November, especially as all eyes will be on the battleground states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Additionally, there already are hundreds of pre-election lawsuits, mainly filed by Republicans, ranging from election integrity challenges to accusations of noncitizens allowed to vote in federal elections — something that rarely happens and is already illegal. The legal challenges could further spark delays.

“We will not have a winner on election night most likely and so we need to be able to prepare the public for this,” said Virginia Kase Solomón, the president and CEO of the democracy watchdog group Common Cause, during a Tuesday briefing.

She added that her organization will focus on combating misinformation and disinformation on election night and beyond.

“There is the potential that somebody could claim the win before … all of the votes have been counted,” she said.

In the early morning hours after Election Day in 2020, before results from key states were determined, Trump falsely claimed he won in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duE8tnrSmNc&amp;t=3s" target="_blank">an address at the White House.&nbsp;&nbsp;</a>

On top of that, experts say this year could see election denial erupting in countless courtrooms and meeting rooms in localities and the states, as well as across social media, if doubts are sown about the results.

Recounts could also delay an official election result, and the laws vary from state to state.

For example, in Pennsylvania, if a candidate demands a recount, three voters from each of the over 9,000 precincts have to petition for a recount.

“We’ve never seen that happen actually in Pennsylvania,” Kathy Boockvar, the commonwealth’s former Democratic secretary of state, said on Friday’s call with reporters.

An automatic statewide recount is triggered in Pennsylvania if there’s a difference of a half percent of all votes cast for the winner and loser. The final recount results, by law, are due to the secretary of state by Nov. 26, and results would be announced on Nov. 27, Boockvar said.

The margin in Pennsylvania’s 2020 results for the presidential election was between 1.1% and 1.2%, not enough to trigger the automatic recount, Boockvar said.

State election officials have been preparing for the past year to train poll workers to not only run the voting booths but for possible violence — a precaution put in place after the 2020 election — and have beefed up security around polling locations.

On Friday, Trump posted on X that the election “will be under the closest professional scrutiny and, WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again.”

A reporter asked Grayson about the possibility of aggression from poll watchers. The Republican National Committee&nbsp;<a href="https://gop.com/press-release/trump-campaign-and-rnc-unveil-historic-100000-person-strong-election-integrity-program/" target="_blank">announced</a>&nbsp;in April a “historic move to safeguard the integrity of the electoral process,” establishing party-led trainings for poll watchers.

Poll watchers are not a new concept, and Grayson said clear “safeguards” are in place.

“If you’re intimidating, you’re gone. There’s clear laws in every state on that,” he said.

Celestine Jeffreys, the city clerk in Green Bay, Wisconsin, said during a Wednesday roundtable with election workers that the city has an Election Day protocol in place that includes everything from blocking off streets to City Hall to getting rid of shrubbery.

“We have actually removed bushes in front of City Hall” to ensure no one can be concealed behind them, she said.&nbsp;In the second assassination attempt on Trump earlier this year, a gunman hid in bushes outside Trump’s private golf course.

New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver said during a Tuesday briefing she is focused on the physical safety of election officials.

During the event with the National Association of Secretaries of State, she said such safety is not only a priority during voting but when officials move to certify the state’s election results in December.

“We have all been spending a lot more time on physical security and making sure that our election officials at all levels are more physically secure this year,” Toulouse Oliver said. “And of course, you know when our electors meet in our states, you know, ensuring for the physical security of that process and those individuals as well.”

On Dec. 17, each state’s electors will meet to vote for the president and vice president. Congress will vote to certify the results on Jan. 6.

“We are thinking a lot more about this in 2024 than we did in 2020, but I think that each one of us… have a playbook in mind for how to handle any unanticipated eventualities in the certification process,” she said.

<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/law-enforcement-officials-prepare-possible-post-election-violence-dc" target="_blank">It’s a security precaution</a>&nbsp;that the U.S. Secret Service is also taking.

For the first time, Congress’ certification of the Electoral College on Jan. 6 has been designated a National Special Security Event, something that is usually reserved for Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.

In 2020, The Associated Press did not call the presidential election for Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.ap.org/behind-the-news/calling-the-2020-presidential-race-state-by-state" target="_blank">until</a>&nbsp;11:26 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 7 — roughly three-and-a-half days after polls closed. The AP, as well as other media organizations, project election winners after local officials make initial tabulations public.

Those tallies are then&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eac.gov/election-officials/election-results-canvass-and-certification" target="_blank">canvassed, audited and certified</a>, according to each state’s legal timeline. Recounts may also extend the timeline before final certification.

The vote totals reported in Pennsylvania — a state that carried 20 Electoral College votes in 2020 — put Biden over the top for the 270 needed to win the presidency.

Trump refused to concede the race, and instead promised to take his fight to court.

For the next two months, Trump and his surrogates filed&nbsp;<a href="https://electioncases.osu.edu/case-tracker/?sortby=filing_date_desc&amp;keywords=&amp;status=all&amp;state=all&amp;topic=25" target="_blank">just over 60 lawsuits</a>&nbsp;challenging the results in numerous states. Ultimately none of the judges found evidence of widespread voter fraud.

The next step was for Congress to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2014-title3/html/USCODE-2014-title3-chap1-sec15.htm" target="_blank">count</a>&nbsp;each state’s certified slate of electors, which by law, it must do on the Jan. 6 following a presidential election.

However, in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6, Trump and his private lawyers worked to replace legitimate slates of electors with fake ones, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/collection/january-6th-committee-final-report?path=/GPO/January%206th%20Committee%20Final%20Report%20and%20Supporting%20Materials%20Collection" target="_blank">hundreds</a>&nbsp;of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67656604/266/2/united-states-v-trump/" target="_blank">pages</a>&nbsp;of records compiled by a special congressional investigation, and by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Trump pressured then-Vice President Mike Pence to block ratification of the Electoral College’s vote at the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress, because the vice president’s role in the certification of electoral votes was not exactly clear in the Electoral Count Act of 1887.

Thousands of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 following a “Stop the Steal” rally at The Ellipse park, south of the White House, where Trump told the crowd “We will never concede.”

The mob assaulted police officers, broke windows to climb inside and hurled violent threats aimed at elected officials, including the desire to “hang” Pence. More than 1,500 defendants&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/44-months-jan-6-attack-us-capitol" target="_blank">have been charged</a>&nbsp;by the Department of Justice.

Congress stopped its process of reviewing the state electors in the 2 p.m. Eastern hour as police ushered the lawmakers to safety. The joint session resumed at roughly 11:30 p.m., and Pence called the majority of electoral votes for Biden at nearly 4 a.m. on Jan. 7.

To deter another Jan. 6 insurrection, Congress&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/09/28/key-u-s-senate-panel-advances-bill-aimed-at-preventing-another-jan-6/" target="_blank">passed</a>&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/JRQ121922.PDF" target="_blank">Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transitional Improvement Act of 2022</a>&nbsp;as part of a massive appropriations bill.

The Electoral Count Reform Act codifies into law that the vice president, who also serves as the president of the U.S. Senate, only ceremoniously reads aloud a roll call of the votes.

Most notably, the provision raises the threshold for lawmakers to make an objection to electors. Previously, only one U.S. House representative and one U.S. senator would need to make an objection to an elector or slate of electors.

But under the new law, it would take one-fifth of members to lodge an objection and under very specific standards — 87 House members and 20 senators.

The Electoral Count Reform Act also identifies that each state’s governor is the official responsible for submitting the state’s official document that identifies the state’s appointed electors, and says that Congress cannot accept that document from any official besides the governor, unless otherwise specified by the state’s law.

Trump and his allies tried to replace legitimate slates of electors in several states with fake electors who would cast ballots for Trump.

The Presidential Transitional Improvement Act provides candidates with funding and resources for transitional planning, even if a candidate has not conceded after the election.

There are already issues with the transition of power. The top Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin,&nbsp;<a href="https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/democrats-oversight.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2024-10-23.JBR%20to%20Trump%20and%20Vance%20re%20transition%20MOUs.pdf" target="_blank">sent a Wednesday letter</a>&nbsp;to Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, urging them to sign documents to ensure a peaceful transition of power.

“With fewer than three weeks left until an election in which the American people will select a new President of the United States, I urge you to put the public’s interest in maintaining a properly functioning government above any personal financial or political interests you may perceive in boycotting the official transition law and process,” Raskin wrote.

Denial expected at all levels of government

Experts warn the effort to delay certification of the vote is largely being fought at the local and state levels, and that several groups are gearing up to sow doubt in the election outcome.

Devin Burghart, president of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights, said on a press call Wednesday that since 2020, “election denial has shifted away from the capital to county election commission meetings, courtrooms, cyber symposiums and countless conspiracies in preparation for a repeat this November.”

“This time, the baseless claim that undocumented immigrants are somehow swamping the polls has fueled the ‘big lie’ machine,” Burghart said.

Boockvar said the noncitizen topic is not new.

“I’d like to level set and remind everyone that it’s been illegal at the federal level since 1996 and you know, when you think back on 2002 the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eac.gov/about/help_america_vote_act.aspx" target="_blank">Help America Vote Act</a>&nbsp;basically required voters to provide ID when they register, which is usually a driver’s license or a Social Security number, and states are checking that data against the DMV database. And these protections are enormously successful,” Boockvar said.

In two high-profile cases, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Republican-led efforts in&nbsp;<a href="https://alabamareflector.com/2024/10/16/federal-judge-blocks-alabama-secretary-of-states-voter-removal-plan/" target="_blank">Alabama</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://virginiamercury.com/briefs/judge-orders-people-removed-from-voter-rolls-to-be-reinstated-gov-youngkin-to-seek-appeal/" target="_blank">Virginia</a>&nbsp;to purge voter rolls after alleging thousands of noncitizens were registered to vote. Both states were ordered to stop the programs and reinstate voters – though Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin promised Friday to appeal and even escalate to the Supreme Court.

In&nbsp;<a href="https://georgiarecorder.com/2024/10/22/georgia-supreme-court-delays-ruling-on-controversial-election-board-rules-until-after-nov-5/" target="_blank">Georgia</a>, the state’s Supreme Court delayed new rules until after this election that would have required three poll workers at every precinct to count ballots by hand once the polls closed — essentially delaying unofficial election results.

More than 165 electoral process lawsuits across 37 states have been filed by both parties since 2023 leading up to the 2024 presidential election, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2024-election-court-lawsuits-influence-voting/" target="_blank">survey</a>&nbsp;by Bloomberg of pre-election cases. The journalists found that more than half the cases have been filed in swing states, and challenge almost every facet of the voting process, from absentee voting, to voter roll management, voter eligibility and vote certification.

Republican and conservative groups have filed roughly 55% of the lawsuits, mostly aimed at narrowing who can vote, and overall most of the cases were filed in August and September, according to the analysis.

Courts threw out dozens of lawsuits claiming voter fraud in 2020.

Mai Ratakonda, senior counsel at States United Democracy Center, said anti-democracy groups have used litigation “to legitimize their efforts to sow doubt in our election system.”

“We’ve unfortunately continued to see this trend of filing lawsuits to bolster and legitimize narratives that our elections are insecure and laying the groundwork to contest results later,” Ratakonda told reporters on a press call Wednesday hosted by the organization, whose stated mission is to protect nonpartisan election administration.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1720316487639.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/ariana-figueroa/">ARIANA FIGUEROA</a>&nbsp;AND&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/ashley-murray/">ASHLEY MURRAY</a>&nbsp;The closing of the polls and end of mail-in voting kick off a nearly three-month process before the next president of the United States is sworn in on Inauguration Day in January. New guardrails were enacted by Congress in 2022 to more fully protect the presidential transition, following the Jan. 6, 2021 mob attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters and a failed scheme to install fake electors.But even before that shift to a new chief executive begins, a presidential victor is unlikely to be announced election night or even the following day.It’s a result that will possibly take days to determine, given tight margins expected in seven swing states. Officials needed four days to count all the votes to determine President Joe Biden the victor of the 2020 presidential election.In states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the law does not allow that process to begin for millions of mail-in ballots until Election Day. Other states allow pre-processing of ballots.Trey Grayson, Kentucky’s former Republican secretary of state, said ballot authentication could be on different timelines across the country after voting ends on Election Day.“We have 50 states, plus D.C., that pretty much all do it differently,” Grayson, who served as president of the National Association of Secretaries of State, told reporters Friday on a call of bipartisan former state election officials who are working to explain the process to the public.It could mean “in a very close election that we don’t know on election night who the president is or who controls the House or the Senate, but we should feel confident over the next couple of days, as we work through that, that we’re going to get there,” he said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1730046895799.png" alt="-Source: The National Archives and Records Administration" />
 <figcaption>-Source: The National Archives and Records Administration</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Lawsuits and potential recounts&nbsp;</h2>Those delays, which former President Donald Trump seized on to spread the baseless lie that the election was stolen from him, are expected again in November, especially as all eyes will be on the battleground states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.Additionally, there already are hundreds of pre-election lawsuits, mainly filed by Republicans, ranging from election integrity challenges to accusations of noncitizens allowed to vote in federal elections — something that rarely happens and is already illegal. The legal challenges could further spark delays.“We will not have a winner on election night most likely and so we need to be able to prepare the public for this,” said Virginia Kase Solomón, the president and CEO of the democracy watchdog group Common Cause, during a Tuesday briefing.She added that her organization will focus on combating misinformation and disinformation on election night and beyond.“There is the potential that somebody could claim the win before … all of the votes have been counted,” she said.In the early morning hours after Election Day in 2020, before results from key states were determined, Trump falsely claimed he won in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duE8tnrSmNc&amp;t=3s" target="_blank">an address at the White House.&nbsp;&nbsp;</a>On top of that, experts say this year could see election denial erupting in countless courtrooms and meeting rooms in localities and the states, as well as across social media, if doubts are sown about the results.Recounts could also delay an official election result, and the laws vary from state to state.For example, in Pennsylvania, if a candidate demands a recount, three voters from each of the over 9,000 precincts have to petition for a recount.“We’ve never seen that happen actually in Pennsylvania,” Kathy Boockvar, the commonwealth’s former Democratic secretary of state, said on Friday’s call with reporters.An automatic statewide recount is triggered in Pennsylvania if there’s a difference of a half percent of all votes cast for the winner and loser. The final recount results, by law, are due to the secretary of state by Nov. 26, and results would be announced on Nov. 27, Boockvar said.The margin in Pennsylvania’s 2020 results for the presidential election was between 1.1% and 1.2%, not enough to trigger the automatic recount, Boockvar said.<h2>Taking out the shrubs</h2>State election officials have been preparing for the past year to train poll workers to not only run the voting booths but for possible violence — a precaution put in place after the 2020 election — and have beefed up security around polling locations.On Friday, Trump posted on X that the election “will be under the closest professional scrutiny and, WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again.”A reporter asked Grayson about the possibility of aggression from poll watchers. The Republican National Committee&nbsp;<a href="https://gop.com/press-release/trump-campaign-and-rnc-unveil-historic-100000-person-strong-election-integrity-program/" target="_blank">announced</a>&nbsp;in April a “historic move to safeguard the integrity of the electoral process,” establishing party-led trainings for poll watchers.Poll watchers are not a new concept, and Grayson said clear “safeguards” are in place.“If you’re intimidating, you’re gone. There’s clear laws in every state on that,” he said.Celestine Jeffreys, the city clerk in Green Bay, Wisconsin, said during a Wednesday roundtable with election workers that the city has an Election Day protocol in place that includes everything from blocking off streets to City Hall to getting rid of shrubbery.“We have actually removed bushes in front of City Hall” to ensure no one can be concealed behind them, she said.&nbsp;In the second assassination attempt on Trump earlier this year, a gunman hid in bushes outside Trump’s private golf course.New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver said during a Tuesday briefing she is focused on the physical safety of election officials.During the event with the National Association of Secretaries of State, she said such safety is not only a priority during voting but when officials move to certify the state’s election results in December.“We have all been spending a lot more time on physical security and making sure that our election officials at all levels are more physically secure this year,” Toulouse Oliver said. “And of course, you know when our electors meet in our states, you know, ensuring for the physical security of that process and those individuals as well.”On Dec. 17, each state’s electors will meet to vote for the president and vice president. Congress will vote to certify the results on Jan. 6.“We are thinking a lot more about this in 2024 than we did in 2020, but I think that each one of us… have a playbook in mind for how to handle any unanticipated eventualities in the certification process,” she said.<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/law-enforcement-officials-prepare-possible-post-election-violence-dc" target="_blank">It’s a security precaution</a>&nbsp;that the U.S. Secret Service is also taking.For the first time, Congress’ certification of the Electoral College on Jan. 6 has been designated a National Special Security Event, something that is usually reserved for Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.<h2>The 2020 experience</h2>In 2020, The Associated Press did not call the presidential election for Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.ap.org/behind-the-news/calling-the-2020-presidential-race-state-by-state" target="_blank">until</a>&nbsp;11:26 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 7 — roughly three-and-a-half days after polls closed. The AP, as well as other media organizations, project election winners after local officials make initial tabulations public.Those tallies are then&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eac.gov/election-officials/election-results-canvass-and-certification" target="_blank">canvassed, audited and certified</a>, according to each state’s legal timeline. Recounts may also extend the timeline before final certification.The vote totals reported in Pennsylvania — a state that carried 20 Electoral College votes in 2020 — put Biden over the top for the 270 needed to win the presidency.Trump refused to concede the race, and instead promised to take his fight to court.For the next two months, Trump and his surrogates filed&nbsp;<a href="https://electioncases.osu.edu/case-tracker/?sortby=filing_date_desc&amp;keywords=&amp;status=all&amp;state=all&amp;topic=25" target="_blank">just over 60 lawsuits</a>&nbsp;challenging the results in numerous states. Ultimately none of the judges found evidence of widespread voter fraud.The next step was for Congress to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2014-title3/html/USCODE-2014-title3-chap1-sec15.htm" target="_blank">count</a>&nbsp;each state’s certified slate of electors, which by law, it must do on the Jan. 6 following a presidential election.However, in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6, Trump and his private lawyers worked to replace legitimate slates of electors with fake ones, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/collection/january-6th-committee-final-report?path=/GPO/January%206th%20Committee%20Final%20Report%20and%20Supporting%20Materials%20Collection" target="_blank">hundreds</a>&nbsp;of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67656604/266/2/united-states-v-trump/" target="_blank">pages</a>&nbsp;of records compiled by a special congressional investigation, and by the U.S. Department of Justice.Trump pressured then-Vice President Mike Pence to block ratification of the Electoral College’s vote at the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress, because the vice president’s role in the certification of electoral votes was not exactly clear in the Electoral Count Act of 1887.Pence ultimately refused.Thousands of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 following a “Stop the Steal” rally at The Ellipse park, south of the White House, where Trump told the crowd “We will never concede.”The mob assaulted police officers, broke windows to climb inside and hurled violent threats aimed at elected officials, including the desire to “hang” Pence. More than 1,500 defendants&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/44-months-jan-6-attack-us-capitol" target="_blank">have been charged</a>&nbsp;by the Department of Justice.Congress stopped its process of reviewing the state electors in the 2 p.m. Eastern hour as police ushered the lawmakers to safety. The joint session resumed at roughly 11:30 p.m., and Pence called the majority of electoral votes for Biden at nearly 4 a.m. on Jan. 7.<h2>New law on presidential transition</h2>To deter another Jan. 6 insurrection, Congress&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/09/28/key-u-s-senate-panel-advances-bill-aimed-at-preventing-another-jan-6/" target="_blank">passed</a>&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/JRQ121922.PDF" target="_blank">Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transitional Improvement Act of 2022</a>&nbsp;as part of a massive appropriations bill.The Electoral Count Reform Act codifies into law that the vice president, who also serves as the president of the U.S. Senate, only ceremoniously reads aloud a roll call of the votes.Most notably, the provision raises the threshold for lawmakers to make an objection to electors. Previously, only one U.S. House representative and one U.S. senator would need to make an objection to an elector or slate of electors.But under the new law, it would take one-fifth of members to lodge an objection and under very specific standards — 87 House members and 20 senators.The Electoral Count Reform Act also identifies that each state’s governor is the official responsible for submitting the state’s official document that identifies the state’s appointed electors, and says that Congress cannot accept that document from any official besides the governor, unless otherwise specified by the state’s law.Trump and his allies tried to replace legitimate slates of electors in several states with fake electors who would cast ballots for Trump.The Presidential Transitional Improvement Act provides candidates with funding and resources for transitional planning, even if a candidate has not conceded after the election.There are already issues with the transition of power. The top Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin,&nbsp;<a href="https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/democrats-oversight.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2024-10-23.JBR%20to%20Trump%20and%20Vance%20re%20transition%20MOUs.pdf" target="_blank">sent a Wednesday letter</a>&nbsp;to Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, urging them to sign documents to ensure a peaceful transition of power.“With fewer than three weeks left until an election in which the American people will select a new President of the United States, I urge you to put the public’s interest in maintaining a properly functioning government above any personal financial or political interests you may perceive in boycotting the official transition law and process,” Raskin wrote.<h2>Denial expected at all levels of government</h2>Experts warn the effort to delay certification of the vote is largely being fought at the local and state levels, and that several groups are gearing up to sow doubt in the election outcome.Devin Burghart, president of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights, said on a press call Wednesday that since 2020, “election denial has shifted away from the capital to county election commission meetings, courtrooms, cyber symposiums and countless conspiracies in preparation for a repeat this November.”“This time, the baseless claim that undocumented immigrants are somehow swamping the polls has fueled the ‘big lie’ machine,” Burghart said.Boockvar said the noncitizen topic is not new.“I’d like to level set and remind everyone that it’s been illegal at the federal level since 1996 and you know, when you think back on 2002 the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eac.gov/about/help_america_vote_act.aspx" target="_blank">Help America Vote Act</a>&nbsp;basically required voters to provide ID when they register, which is usually a driver’s license or a Social Security number, and states are checking that data against the DMV database. And these protections are enormously successful,” Boockvar said.In two high-profile cases, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Republican-led efforts in&nbsp;<a href="https://alabamareflector.com/2024/10/16/federal-judge-blocks-alabama-secretary-of-states-voter-removal-plan/" target="_blank">Alabama</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://virginiamercury.com/briefs/judge-orders-people-removed-from-voter-rolls-to-be-reinstated-gov-youngkin-to-seek-appeal/" target="_blank">Virginia</a>&nbsp;to purge voter rolls after alleging thousands of noncitizens were registered to vote. Both states were ordered to stop the programs and reinstate voters – though Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin promised Friday to appeal and even escalate to the Supreme Court.In&nbsp;<a href="https://georgiarecorder.com/2024/10/22/georgia-supreme-court-delays-ruling-on-controversial-election-board-rules-until-after-nov-5/" target="_blank">Georgia</a>, the state’s Supreme Court delayed new rules until after this election that would have required three poll workers at every precinct to count ballots by hand once the polls closed — essentially delaying unofficial election results.More than 165 electoral process lawsuits across 37 states have been filed by both parties since 2023 leading up to the 2024 presidential election, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2024-election-court-lawsuits-influence-voting/" target="_blank">survey</a>&nbsp;by Bloomberg of pre-election cases. The journalists found that more than half the cases have been filed in swing states, and challenge almost every facet of the voting process, from absentee voting, to voter roll management, voter eligibility and vote certification.Republican and conservative groups have filed roughly 55% of the lawsuits, mostly aimed at narrowing who can vote, and overall most of the cases were filed in August and September, according to the analysis.Courts threw out dozens of lawsuits claiming voter fraud in 2020.Mai Ratakonda, senior counsel at States United Democracy Center, said anti-democracy groups have used litigation “to legitimize their efforts to sow doubt in our election system.”“We’ve unfortunately continued to see this trend of filing lawsuits to bolster and legitimize narratives that our elections are insecure and laying the groundwork to contest results later,” Ratakonda told reporters on a press call Wednesday hosted by the organization, whose stated mission is to protect nonpartisan election administration.

Final results may lag in deadlocked presidential contest, anxious election officials warn

Ellis County Clerk Bobbi Dreiling would like to remind the public that early voting ends today at noon at the Administration Center, 718 Main St. 

As always, if you have any questions please call the office at 785-628-9410.

Election Day is Tuesday. Vote at your polling location from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

To find out where your polling location is, visit the&nbsp;<a href="https://myvoteinfo.voteks.org/" target="_blank">VoterView</a>&nbsp;website. Here you can&nbsp;enter your name and birth date on the voting registration tab to get your current polling location, county voting history, view your current ballot and more.

Watch the Hays Post and listen to Eagle Radio for complete election results.

Ellis County ClerkEllis County Clerk Bobbi Dreiling would like to remind the public that early voting ends today at noon at the Administration Center, 718 Main St. As always, if you have any questions please call the office at 785-628-9410.Election Day is Tuesday. Vote at your polling location from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.To find out where your polling location is, visit the&nbsp;<a href="https://myvoteinfo.voteks.org/" target="_blank">VoterView</a>&nbsp;website. Here you can&nbsp;enter your name and birth date on the voting registration tab to get your current polling location, county voting history, view your current ballot and more.Watch the Hays Post and listen to Eagle Radio for complete election results.

Early voting available until noon today; Election Day Tuesday

By TONY GUERRERO Hays Post

The city of Ellis is looking vibrant with its new mural on the south side of city hall.

The mural at 815 Jefferson St. was created by Mindy Allen, the artist behind the business Mindy's Murals, and several other works across the state.

"What's so inspiring about exterior murals is thousands of people will see it," Allen said.

Allen has been painting murals for 12 years, starting with interior murals for children's rooms and businesses throughout western Kansas.

After moving to Junction City in 2020, she shifted her focus to primarily exterior murals, which she finds more rewarding because of public visibility.

"It reaches so many people in different ways, and that's what I love so much about the exterior ones," she said.

The mural in Ellis highlights historical and cultural elements, showcasing prominent buildings, the city's name and its incorporation date.

Sunflowers are scattered throughout, while the right side features the Bukovina Society of the Americas Museum and the Walter P. Chrysler Boyhood Home Museum.

Allen said murals in rural communities uplift morale and instill a sense of pride.

"Adding color and art to a community sends out positive feelings and messages. Sometimes they're informative about the community," she said.

Allen has painted murals in Wakeney, Abilene, Inman, Salina, Junction City, Manhattan and even South Dakota.

Allen grew up in western Kansas and said smaller communities have recently started turning to public art to represent their identities

"I always want to get across to people how important art is in a community, whether it's murals or sculptures. It shows the originality of your community and what your community is all about," Allen said.

Allen said she draws inspiration from fellow artists she discovers on social media who share their creations.

You can follow Mindy's Murals on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MindysMurals">Facebook</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729792372411.jpeg" alt="Mindy Allen's mural is still in progress in Ellis. Photo by Tony Guerrero/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Mindy Allen's mural is still in progress in Ellis. Photo by Tony Guerrero/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>By TONY GUERRERO Hays PostThe city of Ellis is looking vibrant with its new mural on the south side of city hall.The mural at 815 Jefferson St. was created by Mindy Allen, the artist behind the business Mindy's Murals, and several other works across the state."What's so inspiring about exterior murals is thousands of people will see it," Allen said.Allen has been painting murals for 12 years, starting with interior murals for children's rooms and businesses throughout western Kansas.After moving to Junction City in 2020, she shifted her focus to primarily exterior murals, which she finds more rewarding because of public visibility."It reaches so many people in different ways, and that's what I love so much about the exterior ones," she said.The mural in Ellis highlights historical and cultural elements, showcasing prominent buildings, the city's name and its incorporation date.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729792410106.jpeg" alt="Mindy Allen's mural on the south side of Ellis City Hall. Photo by Tony Guerrero/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Mindy Allen's mural on the south side of Ellis City Hall. Photo by Tony Guerrero/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729792474681.jpeg" alt="Walter P. Chrysler Boyhood Home Museum painted in Mindy Allen's mural at Ellis. Photo by Tony Guerrero/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Walter P. Chrysler Boyhood Home Museum painted in Mindy Allen's mural at Ellis. Photo by Tony Guerrero/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729792513817.jpeg" alt="Bukovina Society of the Americas Museum painted in Mindy Allen's mural at Ellis. Photo by Tony Guerrero/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Bukovina Society of the Americas Museum painted in Mindy Allen's mural at Ellis. Photo by Tony Guerrero/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>Sunflowers are scattered throughout, while the right side features the Bukovina Society of the Americas Museum and the Walter P. Chrysler Boyhood Home Museum.Allen said murals in rural communities uplift morale and instill a sense of pride."Adding color and art to a community sends out positive feelings and messages. Sometimes they're informative about the community," she said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729792568281.jpeg" alt="An electric lift at the site to reach the top of the mural. Photo by Tony Guerrero/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>An electric lift at the site to reach the top of the mural. Photo by Tony Guerrero/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729792588821.jpeg" alt="Mindy Allen finalizing the mural at Ellis. Photo by Tony Guerrero/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Mindy Allen finalizing the mural at Ellis. Photo by Tony Guerrero/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>Allen has painted murals in Wakeney, Abilene, Inman, Salina, Junction City, Manhattan and even South Dakota.Allen grew up in western Kansas and said smaller communities have recently started turning to public art to represent their identities"I always want to get across to people how important art is in a community, whether it's murals or sculptures. It shows the originality of your community and what your community is all about," Allen said.Allen said she draws inspiration from fellow artists she discovers on social media who share their creations.You can follow Mindy's Murals on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MindysMurals">Facebook</a>.

City of Ellis mural showcases town's history, culture

Experts worry older patients could be exposed to ‘catastrophic’ costs and interrupted access to care.

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/author/avollers/">ANNA CLAIRE VOLLERS</a> <a href="https://stateline.org/">Stateline</a>

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Libby and Andrew Potter usually ignore the avalanche of Medicare Advantage ads that land in the mailbox at their home in Huntsville, Alabama, each fall as Medicare’s open enrollment period begins.

Libby, a retired middle school librarian, has what she considers good health insurance through the state employee health plan. Andrew has insurance through his job as a university professor and plans to join Libby’s insurance when he retires next year.

But this year, a few days before open enrollment began, a letter arrived from UnitedHealthcare, informing the Potters that the region’s largest hospital system would no longer be considered in-network for Libby’s Medicare Advantage plan.

The Potters spent the next couple of weeks worried and unsure what to do. It seemed incredible that 14 area hospitals, including the area’s only Level 1 trauma center, could suddenly become much, much more expensive.

“We were being very careful in how we go up and down stairs,” Libby joked.

Medicare is the federal health insurance program for people over 65 and those with certain disabilities. Medicare Advantage is a version of Medicare run by private insurance companies that contract with the government. These plans typically offer extra benefits, such as dental, vision and prescription drug coverage, that aren’t included with traditional Medicare.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medpac.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Mar24_Ch12_MedPAC_Report_To_Congress_SEC.pdf" target="_blank">More than half</a>&nbsp;of eligible Medicare beneficiaries now get their coverage through private Medicare Advantage plans.

But this year, as Medicare’s open enrollment season kicks off, more than 1 million patients will have to shop for new health insurance. Facing financial and federal regulatory pressures, many insurers are pulling their Medicare Advantage plans from counties and states they’ve deemed unprofitable. Meanwhile, large health systems in states including Alabama, Minnesota and Vermont have cut ties with some Medicare Advantage plans.

It’s a situation that’s alarmed state insurance regulators, who are fielding questions from older adults concerned about their hospitals and doctors withdrawing from their Medicare Advantage plans. Last month, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners sent&nbsp;<a href="https://content.naic.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/FINAL%20MA%20SEP%20CMS%20Letter%20Sept%202024.pdf" target="_blank">a letter</a>&nbsp;to the federal Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services asking for guidance.

“Beneficiaries are faced with either paying the increased out-of-network costs or rescheduling their necessary medical services with another provider who may not have prompt availability,” the insurance commissioners’ group wrote. “A delay in access to medically necessary services is likely to result in harm.”

The Potters eventually learned that Libby’s copayments at the hospital would remain the same whether or not the hospital was in-network for the state educators’ Medicare Advantage plan. But those with other UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans will have to pay more — or find another plan.

“When a contract leaves the market, that can threaten continuity of care and access to care,” said Dr. Amal Trivedi, professor of health services, policy and practice at the Brown University School of Public Health. “The beneficiary will have to choose a new plan, and each of these plans is going to have a different benefit structure, different provider network, different prior authorization policies and different [prescription drug] formularies.

“The worry is that’s going to affect their out-of-pocket costs, expose them to catastrophic spending, or compromise their access to care.”

Insurance giants such as UnitedHealthcare have been aggressively pushing enrollment in their Medicaid Advantage plans for the past several years, luring customers with perks and bonuses not available through traditional Medicare. These plans tend to have low or even no monthly premiums and offer extra benefits such as vision and dental coverage, gym memberships, transportation to medical appointments, and even debit cards for medical supplies.

And they’re simple: They provide all of a person’s coverage in one plan, unlike traditional Medicare, under which people must get separate prescription drug coverage and supplemental coverage.

But there are trade-offs. Medicare Advantage plans often have a limited network of hospitals and physicians. And while the premiums are typically low, enrollees could end up&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncoa.org/article/what-is-the-difference-between-medicare-advantage-and-medigap/#:~:text=You%20could%20end,with%20Original%20Medicare)." target="_blank">paying more in the long run</a>&nbsp;in copays and deductibles if they develop a serious illness.

Medicare Advantage programs also are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/use-of-prior-authorization-in-medicare-advantage-exceeded-46-million-requests-in-2022/#:~:text=Virtually%20all%20enrollees%20in%20Medicare%20Advantage%20(99%25)%20are%20required%20to%20obtain%20prior%20authorization%20for%20some%20services%20%E2%80%93%20most%20commonly%2C%20higher%20cost%20services%2C%20such%20as%20inpatient%20hospital%20stays%2C%20skilled%20nursing%20facility%20stays%2C%20and%20chemotherapy.%20This%20contrasts%20with%20traditional%20Medicare" target="_blank">more likely than traditional Medicare</a>&nbsp;to require prior authorization for hospital stays and other high-cost services. The plans’ prior authorization requirements have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/25/science/medicare-seniors-authorization.html" target="_blank">prompted increased scrutiny</a>&nbsp;in recent years. A congressional investigation by Democratic Senate staff released this month, for example, found the nation’s largest Medicare Advantage insurers&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024.10.17-PSI-Majority-Staff-Report-on-Medicare-Advantage.pdf" target="_blank">denied a quarter of all prior authorization requests</a>&nbsp;for post-acute care in nursing homes, rehab hospitals and long-term care.

Medicare Advantage is popular among large employers, many of which are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/10-reasons-why-medicare-advantage-enrollment-is-growing-and-why-it-matters/#:~:text=A%20growing%20share%20of%20large%20employers%20are%20shifting%20their%20Medicare%2Dage%20retirees%20into%20Medicare%20Advantage%20plans%20for%20both%20Medicare%20and%20supplemental%20benefits" target="_blank">shifting their Medicare-age retirees</a>&nbsp;into these plans. And&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/in-2024-a-majority-of-states-offer-medicare-advantage-plans-to-their-state-retirees-with-13-offering-medicare-advantage-exclusively/" target="_blank">most states</a>&nbsp;offer Medicare Advantage plans to retired state employees; in 13 states, it’s the only option. In some of those 13 states, retirees forfeit their health benefits in perpetuity if they choose coverage under traditional Medicare.

North Carolina Treasurer Dale Folwell, whose office administers the state health plan, said its Medicare Advantage plan is popular.

“What we hear from our retirees, is that they are grateful and happy to have such a great offering as a result of their retirement benefit,” the Republican said. “That’s why nearly 89% of our retirees over age 65 have availed themselves of the [Medicare Advantage] product we offer them.”

This year, the handful of insurance giants that dominate the Medicare Advantage market have said they’re scaling back or eliminating plans, to shed members and boost sagging profits. They&nbsp;<a href="https://s2.q4cdn.com/447711729/files/doc_financials/2024/q1/CVS-1Q24-Earnings-Transcript.pdf" target="_blank">blame</a>&nbsp;new federal changes to their reimbursements, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/04/02/medicare-advantage-insurer-pay" target="_blank">a small cut to their base payments</a>, and say patients are using more medical services and benefits than they anticipated.

Though most companies haven’t released data on specific counties where they’re making cuts, plans are reportedly shuttering in states such as&nbsp;<a href="https://pfsinsurance.com/news/wellcare-080524" target="_blank">Alabama</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://pfsinsurance.com/news/wellcare-080524" target="_blank">Massachusetts</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.beckerspayer.com/payer/bcbs-kansas-city-exiting-medicare-advantage-market.html" target="_blank">Missouri</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.concordmonitor.com/harvard-pilgrim-medicare-new-hampshire-57353658" target="_blank">New Hampshire</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://pfsinsurance.com/news/wellcare-080524" target="_blank">New Mexico</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dmagazine.com/healthcare-business/2024/09/southwestern-health-resources-to-sunset-medicare-advantage-health-plan-amid-layoffs/" target="_blank">Texas</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://vtdigger.org/2024/10/03/2-medicare-advantage-plans-will-no-longer-be-available-in-vermont-in-2025/" target="_blank">Vermont</a>, affecting hundreds of thousands of older adults. Experts say the reasons why a company might find certain markets unprofitable are complex, but can include demographics, availability of providers and plans that are already in the market.

“[T]he industry broadly is going to be trimming benefits and in some cases significantly, and exiting from certain counties that aren’t profitable,” Aetna’s former President Brian Kane&nbsp;<a href="https://s2.q4cdn.com/447711729/files/doc_financials/2024/q1/CVS-1Q24-Earnings-Transcript.pdf" target="_blank">told shareholders</a>&nbsp;on an earnings call in May, before he left his position. Aetna, a subsidiary of CVS Health, is the third-largest Medicare Advantage insurer in the nation. “I think that’s an industry issue and I think it’s clearly an Aetna focus as well.”

Executives at CVS Health, Aetna’s parent company, told shareholders the priority for its Medicare Advantage program would be improving profit margins rather than increasing the number of enrollees.

They have not announced publicly which counties will lose Medicare Advantage plans, but noted their changes could&nbsp;<a href="https://www.statnews.com/2024/05/14/cvs-aetna-medicare-advantage-cut-benefits/?utm_campaign=health_care_inc&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_KG6jNdcCYt_b2-JXr0SMQbogbV_XDMgmCvnUjnWW5m_UsBvalMlvUPozxIsPXvn9C126pFPAlA2qO2jZszULKf47ccg&amp;_hsmi=307746331&amp;utm_content=307746331&amp;utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">push out 10% of their membership</a>, meaning up to 420,000 patients could be forced to shop for a different plan.

Even with the decline in the number of plans available next year, “there are still a lot of plans and people have a lot of options,” said Jeannie Fuglesten Biniek, associate director of the Medicare policy program at KFF, a health policy research organization. Next year, the average Medicare beneficiary will have access to 34 Medicare Advantage plans that include drug coverage, down from 36 this year, she said.

But that average masks wide variation across states and even counties in how many plans are available.

“There are a handful of counties, more than in previous years, where all Medicare Advantage plans exited and those look to be predominantly rural counties,” said Fuglesten Biniek. “We’re talking fortyish counties out of 3,000. For those people in those counties, that matters, but overall, it’s a smaller number.”

Experts say there isn’t enough data available yet to know whether the plan exits are concentrated in certain states or counties.

But research has shown that Medicare Advantage plans that enroll higher shares of Black beneficiaries are&nbsp;<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2797677#:~:text=enrolled%20a%20greater%20proportion%20of%20Black%20(21.9%25%20vs%2014.3%25%2C%20P%E2%80%89%3C%E2%80%89.001)%20beneficiaries" target="_blank">more likely to be terminated</a>, said Trivedi, of Brown University. Black enrollees have&nbsp;<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1475-6773.13977" target="_blank">more lower-quality Medicare Advantage plans</a>&nbsp;available in their counties of residence than white enrollees, research shows; terminated contracts tend to&nbsp;<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2797677#:~:text=Terminated%20contracts%20tended%20to%20have%20lower%20quality" target="_blank">have lower-quality ratings</a>.

“The consequence is that contract terminations in Medicare Advantage seem to have a disproportionate effect on Black beneficiaries because their contracts are more likely to be terminated,” Trivedi said.

A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/medicare/report/disparities-in-health-measures-by-race-and-ethnicity-among-beneficiaries-in-medicare-advantage-a-review-of-the-literature/" target="_blank">disproportionate share</a>&nbsp;of Medicare Advantage beneficiaries are Black, Hispanic, and Asian and Pacific Islander. These patients&nbsp;<a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9923792/#:~:text=African%20American%20and%20Hispanic%20Medicare%20beneficiaries%20tend%20to%20have%20lower,et%20al.%2C%202019)." target="_blank">tend to have lower incomes</a>&nbsp;than white beneficiaries, and may by drawn by the lower upfront costs of Medicare Advantage plans.

“[Insurers] like to frame it as, ‘People are choosing us because we’re awesome,’” said Brandon Novick, program outreach assistant at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. “But it’s because financially it makes more sense in the short term” for people with limited incomes.

Meanwhile,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/15-health-systems-dropping-medicare-advantage-plans-2024.html" target="_blank">at least 28 health systems</a>&nbsp;in 21 states have stopped accepting some Medicare Advantage plans this year, according to an analysis from Becker’s Hospital Review, an industry publication.

Health systems have cited delayed reimbursements, cumbersome prior authorization requirements and high rates of patient claim denials for their decisions to drop Medicare Advantage plans. Nearly 1 in 5 health systems&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hfma.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Overview-2024-CFO-Pain-Points-Study.pdf" target="_blank">stopped accepting one or more Medicare Advantage plan</a>s last year, according to a report by the Healthcare Financial Management Association.

For retirees like Libby and Andrew Potter, losing access to trusted doctors and hospitals can mean going longer without needed medical care. Finding a new doctor and getting an appointment can take months, particularly for specialists. And for older adults living in rural areas, losing an in-network hospital or physician can mean choosing between a long drive for care or high out-of-pocket costs.

“There are really important access-to-care issues when providers no longer contract with your Medicare Advantage plan,” Trivedi said.

He said the sheer number of plans and differences in benefits might be overwhelming for older adults.

“To sort through all of that when somebody also may have frailty or cognitive impairment, that’s a really tough ask,” Trivedi said. “I study health policy for a living and it’d be hard for me to sort through 40 different options.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729516122048.jpeg" alt="Andrew and Libby Potter look over the letter they received in October, telling them that their region’s largest hospital system would no longer be considered in-network for Libby’s Medicare Advantage policy. The Potters live in Huntsville, Ala., where Libby is a retired middle school librarian and Andrew is a professor at a state university. Anna Claire Vollers/Stateline" />
 <figcaption>Andrew and Libby Potter look over the letter they received in October, telling them that their region’s largest hospital system would no longer be considered in-network for Libby’s Medicare Advantage policy. The Potters live in Huntsville, Ala., where Libby is a retired middle school librarian and Andrew is a professor at a state university. Anna Claire Vollers/Stateline</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Experts worry older patients could be exposed to ‘catastrophic’ costs and interrupted access to care.</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/author/avollers/">ANNA CLAIRE VOLLERS</a> <a href="https://stateline.org/">Stateline</a> HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Libby and Andrew Potter usually ignore the avalanche of Medicare Advantage ads that land in the mailbox at their home in Huntsville, Alabama, each fall as Medicare’s open enrollment period begins.Libby, a retired middle school librarian, has what she considers good health insurance through the state employee health plan. Andrew has insurance through his job as a university professor and plans to join Libby’s insurance when he retires next year.But this year, a few days before open enrollment began, a letter arrived from UnitedHealthcare, informing the Potters that the region’s largest hospital system would no longer be considered in-network for Libby’s Medicare Advantage plan.The Potters spent the next couple of weeks worried and unsure what to do. It seemed incredible that 14 area hospitals, including the area’s only Level 1 trauma center, could suddenly become much, much more expensive.“We were being very careful in how we go up and down stairs,” Libby joked.Medicare is the federal health insurance program for people over 65 and those with certain disabilities. Medicare Advantage is a version of Medicare run by private insurance companies that contract with the government. These plans typically offer extra benefits, such as dental, vision and prescription drug coverage, that aren’t included with traditional Medicare.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medpac.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Mar24_Ch12_MedPAC_Report_To_Congress_SEC.pdf" target="_blank">More than half</a>&nbsp;of eligible Medicare beneficiaries now get their coverage through private Medicare Advantage plans.But this year, as Medicare’s open enrollment season kicks off, more than 1 million patients will have to shop for new health insurance. Facing financial and federal regulatory pressures, many insurers are pulling their Medicare Advantage plans from counties and states they’ve deemed unprofitable. Meanwhile, large health systems in states including Alabama, Minnesota and Vermont have cut ties with some Medicare Advantage plans.It’s a situation that’s alarmed state insurance regulators, who are fielding questions from older adults concerned about their hospitals and doctors withdrawing from their Medicare Advantage plans. Last month, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners sent&nbsp;<a href="https://content.naic.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/FINAL%20MA%20SEP%20CMS%20Letter%20Sept%202024.pdf" target="_blank">a letter</a>&nbsp;to the federal Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services asking for guidance.“Beneficiaries are faced with either paying the increased out-of-network costs or rescheduling their necessary medical services with another provider who may not have prompt availability,” the insurance commissioners’ group wrote. “A delay in access to medically necessary services is likely to result in harm.”The Potters eventually learned that Libby’s copayments at the hospital would remain the same whether or not the hospital was in-network for the state educators’ Medicare Advantage plan. But those with other UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans will have to pay more — or find another plan.“When a contract leaves the market, that can threaten continuity of care and access to care,” said Dr. Amal Trivedi, professor of health services, policy and practice at the Brown University School of Public Health. “The beneficiary will have to choose a new plan, and each of these plans is going to have a different benefit structure, different provider network, different prior authorization policies and different [prescription drug] formularies.“The worry is that’s going to affect their out-of-pocket costs, expose them to catastrophic spending, or compromise their access to care.”<h2>How we got here</h2>Insurance giants such as UnitedHealthcare have been aggressively pushing enrollment in their Medicaid Advantage plans for the past several years, luring customers with perks and bonuses not available through traditional Medicare. These plans tend to have low or even no monthly premiums and offer extra benefits such as vision and dental coverage, gym memberships, transportation to medical appointments, and even debit cards for medical supplies.And they’re simple: They provide all of a person’s coverage in one plan, unlike traditional Medicare, under which people must get separate prescription drug coverage and supplemental coverage.But there are trade-offs. Medicare Advantage plans often have a limited network of hospitals and physicians. And while the premiums are typically low, enrollees could end up&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncoa.org/article/what-is-the-difference-between-medicare-advantage-and-medigap/#:~:text=You%20could%20end,with%20Original%20Medicare)." target="_blank">paying more in the long run</a>&nbsp;in copays and deductibles if they develop a serious illness.Medicare Advantage programs also are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/use-of-prior-authorization-in-medicare-advantage-exceeded-46-million-requests-in-2022/#:~:text=Virtually%20all%20enrollees%20in%20Medicare%20Advantage%20(99%25)%20are%20required%20to%20obtain%20prior%20authorization%20for%20some%20services%20%E2%80%93%20most%20commonly%2C%20higher%20cost%20services%2C%20such%20as%20inpatient%20hospital%20stays%2C%20skilled%20nursing%20facility%20stays%2C%20and%20chemotherapy.%20This%20contrasts%20with%20traditional%20Medicare" target="_blank">more likely than traditional Medicare</a>&nbsp;to require prior authorization for hospital stays and other high-cost services. The plans’ prior authorization requirements have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/25/science/medicare-seniors-authorization.html" target="_blank">prompted increased scrutiny</a>&nbsp;in recent years. A congressional investigation by Democratic Senate staff released this month, for example, found the nation’s largest Medicare Advantage insurers&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024.10.17-PSI-Majority-Staff-Report-on-Medicare-Advantage.pdf" target="_blank">denied a quarter of all prior authorization requests</a>&nbsp;for post-acute care in nursing homes, rehab hospitals and long-term care.Medicare Advantage is popular among large employers, many of which are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/10-reasons-why-medicare-advantage-enrollment-is-growing-and-why-it-matters/#:~:text=A%20growing%20share%20of%20large%20employers%20are%20shifting%20their%20Medicare%2Dage%20retirees%20into%20Medicare%20Advantage%20plans%20for%20both%20Medicare%20and%20supplemental%20benefits" target="_blank">shifting their Medicare-age retirees</a>&nbsp;into these plans. And&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/in-2024-a-majority-of-states-offer-medicare-advantage-plans-to-their-state-retirees-with-13-offering-medicare-advantage-exclusively/" target="_blank">most states</a>&nbsp;offer Medicare Advantage plans to retired state employees; in 13 states, it’s the only option. In some of those 13 states, retirees forfeit their health benefits in perpetuity if they choose coverage under traditional Medicare.North Carolina Treasurer Dale Folwell, whose office administers the state health plan, said its Medicare Advantage plan is popular.“What we hear from our retirees, is that they are grateful and happy to have such a great offering as a result of their retirement benefit,” the Republican said. “That’s why nearly 89% of our retirees over age 65 have availed themselves of the [Medicare Advantage] product we offer them.”<h2>Insurers retreat</h2>This year, the handful of insurance giants that dominate the Medicare Advantage market have said they’re scaling back or eliminating plans, to shed members and boost sagging profits. They&nbsp;<a href="https://s2.q4cdn.com/447711729/files/doc_financials/2024/q1/CVS-1Q24-Earnings-Transcript.pdf" target="_blank">blame</a>&nbsp;new federal changes to their reimbursements, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/04/02/medicare-advantage-insurer-pay" target="_blank">a small cut to their base payments</a>, and say patients are using more medical services and benefits than they anticipated.Though most companies haven’t released data on specific counties where they’re making cuts, plans are reportedly shuttering in states such as&nbsp;<a href="https://pfsinsurance.com/news/wellcare-080524" target="_blank">Alabama</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://pfsinsurance.com/news/wellcare-080524" target="_blank">Massachusetts</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.beckerspayer.com/payer/bcbs-kansas-city-exiting-medicare-advantage-market.html" target="_blank">Missouri</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.concordmonitor.com/harvard-pilgrim-medicare-new-hampshire-57353658" target="_blank">New Hampshire</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://pfsinsurance.com/news/wellcare-080524" target="_blank">New Mexico</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dmagazine.com/healthcare-business/2024/09/southwestern-health-resources-to-sunset-medicare-advantage-health-plan-amid-layoffs/" target="_blank">Texas</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://vtdigger.org/2024/10/03/2-medicare-advantage-plans-will-no-longer-be-available-in-vermont-in-2025/" target="_blank">Vermont</a>, affecting hundreds of thousands of older adults. Experts say the reasons why a company might find certain markets unprofitable are complex, but can include demographics, availability of providers and plans that are already in the market.“[T]he industry broadly is going to be trimming benefits and in some cases significantly, and exiting from certain counties that aren’t profitable,” Aetna’s former President Brian Kane&nbsp;<a href="https://s2.q4cdn.com/447711729/files/doc_financials/2024/q1/CVS-1Q24-Earnings-Transcript.pdf" target="_blank">told shareholders</a>&nbsp;on an earnings call in May, before he left his position. Aetna, a subsidiary of CVS Health, is the third-largest Medicare Advantage insurer in the nation. “I think that’s an industry issue and I think it’s clearly an Aetna focus as well.”Executives at CVS Health, Aetna’s parent company, told shareholders the priority for its Medicare Advantage program would be improving profit margins rather than increasing the number of enrollees.They have not announced publicly which counties will lose Medicare Advantage plans, but noted their changes could&nbsp;<a href="https://www.statnews.com/2024/05/14/cvs-aetna-medicare-advantage-cut-benefits/?utm_campaign=health_care_inc&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_KG6jNdcCYt_b2-JXr0SMQbogbV_XDMgmCvnUjnWW5m_UsBvalMlvUPozxIsPXvn9C126pFPAlA2qO2jZszULKf47ccg&amp;_hsmi=307746331&amp;utm_content=307746331&amp;utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">push out 10% of their membership</a>, meaning up to 420,000 patients could be forced to shop for a different plan.<h2>Canceled plans</h2>Even with the decline in the number of plans available next year, “there are still a lot of plans and people have a lot of options,” said Jeannie Fuglesten Biniek, associate director of the Medicare policy program at KFF, a health policy research organization. Next year, the average Medicare beneficiary will have access to 34 Medicare Advantage plans that include drug coverage, down from 36 this year, she said.But that average masks wide variation across states and even counties in how many plans are available.“There are a handful of counties, more than in previous years, where all Medicare Advantage plans exited and those look to be predominantly rural counties,” said Fuglesten Biniek. “We’re talking fortyish counties out of 3,000. For those people in those counties, that matters, but overall, it’s a smaller number.”Experts say there isn’t enough data available yet to know whether the plan exits are concentrated in certain states or counties.But research has shown that Medicare Advantage plans that enroll higher shares of Black beneficiaries are&nbsp;<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2797677#:~:text=enrolled%20a%20greater%20proportion%20of%20Black%20(21.9%25%20vs%2014.3%25%2C%20P%E2%80%89%3C%E2%80%89.001)%20beneficiaries" target="_blank">more likely to be terminated</a>, said Trivedi, of Brown University. Black enrollees have&nbsp;<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1475-6773.13977" target="_blank">more lower-quality Medicare Advantage plans</a>&nbsp;available in their counties of residence than white enrollees, research shows; terminated contracts tend to&nbsp;<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2797677#:~:text=Terminated%20contracts%20tended%20to%20have%20lower%20quality" target="_blank">have lower-quality ratings</a>.“The consequence is that contract terminations in Medicare Advantage seem to have a disproportionate effect on Black beneficiaries because their contracts are more likely to be terminated,” Trivedi said.A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/medicare/report/disparities-in-health-measures-by-race-and-ethnicity-among-beneficiaries-in-medicare-advantage-a-review-of-the-literature/" target="_blank">disproportionate share</a>&nbsp;of Medicare Advantage beneficiaries are Black, Hispanic, and Asian and Pacific Islander. These patients&nbsp;<a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9923792/#:~:text=African%20American%20and%20Hispanic%20Medicare%20beneficiaries%20tend%20to%20have%20lower,et%20al.%2C%202019)." target="_blank">tend to have lower incomes</a>&nbsp;than white beneficiaries, and may by drawn by the lower upfront costs of Medicare Advantage plans.“[Insurers] like to frame it as, ‘People are choosing us because we’re awesome,’” said Brandon Novick, program outreach assistant at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. “But it’s because financially it makes more sense in the short term” for people with limited incomes.Meanwhile,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/15-health-systems-dropping-medicare-advantage-plans-2024.html" target="_blank">at least 28 health systems</a>&nbsp;in 21 states have stopped accepting some Medicare Advantage plans this year, according to an analysis from Becker’s Hospital Review, an industry publication.Health systems have cited delayed reimbursements, cumbersome prior authorization requirements and high rates of patient claim denials for their decisions to drop Medicare Advantage plans. Nearly 1 in 5 health systems&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hfma.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Overview-2024-CFO-Pain-Points-Study.pdf" target="_blank">stopped accepting one or more Medicare Advantage plan</a>s last year, according to a report by the Healthcare Financial Management Association.<h2>‘A tough ask’</h2>For retirees like Libby and Andrew Potter, losing access to trusted doctors and hospitals can mean going longer without needed medical care. Finding a new doctor and getting an appointment can take months, particularly for specialists. And for older adults living in rural areas, losing an in-network hospital or physician can mean choosing between a long drive for care or high out-of-pocket costs.“There are really important access-to-care issues when providers no longer contract with your Medicare Advantage plan,” Trivedi said.He said the sheer number of plans and differences in benefits might be overwhelming for older adults.“To sort through all of that when somebody also may have frailty or cognitive impairment, that’s a really tough ask,” Trivedi said. “I study health policy for a living and it’d be hard for me to sort through 40 different options.”

1 million+ patients lose coverage as insurers, hospitals drop Medicare Advantage

By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN Special to Hays Post

Gay Flax is passionate about promoting healthy living.

She vowed to continue that mindset in retirement and would like others to experience the same benefits of outdoor activities.

So, the retired Hays elementary teacher decided to start a business called Sunny Cycling, whose motto is to bring sunshine to others, one ride at a time.

Flax’s latest project features a wheelchair-type device on the front of a bicycle, where riders can be safely strapped in with a helmet.

With a veteran bicyclist behind them, nursing facility residents or special needs folks can experience some time outdoors in the fresh air while cruising around town.

“Research has shown so many advantages of sunlight, both physical and mental,” Flax said. “Getting some fresh air helps natural stimulation of the senses and improve general overall moods.”

Flax, who taught in three elementary schools in Hays for 21 years, has long been known for promoting healthy activities.

Twenty years ago, she challenged her fourth-grade students at O’Loughlin Elementary School to set a goal for a reading program called Accelerated Reading. So many points earned by the students in Accelerated Reading would equal so many miles Flax would ride in a single day on Biking Across Kansas the following summer.

“It’s a goal we all set together,” Flax said at the time. “The students made theirs. I had to make mine, too.”

Flax did reach that goal and has been an avid bicyclist ever since.

Coincidentally, during some downtime, while recovering from recent shoulder surgery, Flax came up with the idea for her latest venture.

While sitting around in late 2023—something she isn’t accustomed to doing—Flax was trying to figure out ways to get a change of scenery for her mother,&nbsp;Donita Hayes, an Alzheimer’s patient who lives at&nbsp;Good Samaritan Center in Hays.

Hayes used to bike with her daughter, and Flax’s son, Hunter, learned his ABCs and math times tables while riding on a “Trail-A-Bike” behind his mother when he was young.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729990593649.jpeg" alt="Retired Hays elementary school teacher Gay Flax, right, came up with a way to help people who are homebound like her mother, Donita Hayes, enjoy fresh air and sunshine. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Retired Hays elementary school teacher Gay Flax, right, came up with a way to help people who are homebound like her mother, Donita Hayes, enjoy fresh air and sunshine. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
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 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1727559193168.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN Special to Hays PostGay Flax is passionate about promoting healthy living.She vowed to continue that mindset in retirement and would like others to experience the same benefits of outdoor activities.So, the retired Hays elementary teacher decided to start a business called Sunny Cycling, whose motto is to bring sunshine to others, one ride at a time.Flax’s latest project features a wheelchair-type device on the front of a bicycle, where riders can be safely strapped in with a helmet.With a veteran bicyclist behind them, nursing facility residents or special needs folks can experience some time outdoors in the fresh air while cruising around town.“Research has shown so many advantages of sunlight, both physical and mental,” Flax said. “Getting some fresh air helps natural stimulation of the senses and improve general overall moods.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729990686233.jpeg" alt="Avid Hays bicyclist Gay Flax has turned her passion for bicycling into a service for others. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Avid Hays bicyclist Gay Flax has turned her passion for bicycling into a service for others. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>Flax, who taught in three elementary schools in Hays for 21 years, has long been known for promoting healthy activities.Twenty years ago, she challenged her fourth-grade students at O’Loughlin Elementary School to set a goal for a reading program called Accelerated Reading. So many points earned by the students in Accelerated Reading would equal so many miles Flax would ride in a single day on Biking Across Kansas the following summer.“It’s a goal we all set together,” Flax said at the time. “The students made theirs. I had to make mine, too.”Flax did reach that goal and has been an avid bicyclist ever since.Coincidentally, during some downtime, while recovering from recent shoulder surgery, Flax came up with the idea for her latest venture.While sitting around in late 2023—something she isn’t accustomed to doing—Flax was trying to figure out ways to get a change of scenery for her mother,&nbsp;Donita Hayes, an Alzheimer’s patient who lives at&nbsp;Good Samaritan Center in Hays.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729990821635.jpeg" alt="Gay Flax’s idea for Sunny Cycling was sparked in part by her memory of pulling her son, Hunter, along on her bicycle training rides when he was young. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Gay Flax’s idea for Sunny Cycling was sparked in part by her memory of pulling her son, Hunter, along on her bicycle training rides when he was young. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>Hayes used to bike with her daughter, and Flax’s son, Hunter, learned his ABCs and math times tables while riding on a “Trail-A-Bike” behind his mother when he was young.Flax even took both those family members on Bike Across Kansas with her in 2010, with Hunter riding on the “Trail-A-Bike.”So Flax did some research, hoping to find similar equipment for adults.What she discovered was even better. She ran across a duet bike with a wheelchair-type device mounted on the front.“I thought, ‘How perfect!’ This would give the rider a full view of scenery instead of my backside,” Flax said.Right then and there, she decided, “I was going to order this bike when I retired.”That date came around this past May when Flax decided to close out her 28-year career in education.She ordered the bike and tried it out on her mother and her mother-in-law, Judy Flax.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729990892018.jpeg" alt="Bob Threlkel, Hays, enjoys the side-by-side pedaling version of cycling with Gay Flax. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Bob Threlkel, Hays, enjoys the side-by-side pedaling version of cycling with Gay Flax. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>Flax decided to go one step further and ordered a side-by-side bicycle where the rider could help pedal if they chose.&nbsp;Flax does the majority of the work pedaling, but both bicycles have motors for assistance if needed.Now, in her first year after retiring, Sunny Cycling is up and running strong.&nbsp;The idea for the name choice was twofold. It was a way to honor a beloved family pet, a cat named Sonny, who died in 2022, and the sunshine she hopes to bring to others.The wheelchair version can be detached from the bike and taken into a home or facility. Riders are strapped in securely and wear helmets provided by Flax.The duo then takes off around town or wherever the rider might like to visit. She even stops for a drink for her riders along the way.Flax beams while talking about the benefits for her riders and for herself. Her mother-in-law, who favors the side-by-side bike, agrees.“Cardio, sunshine, keeping your mental status sharp,” said Judy Flax, who still lives independently in her own home. “I think this is phenomenal.”“And I get a lot of exercise pedaling,” Gay Flax said with a laugh.Her project has been a big investment, which includes insurance for her riders.But Flax wanted only the best to keep her loved ones—and all her riders —safe.To help offset costs, she decided on a price of $50 an hour that can be broken up into&nbsp; 20- or 30-minute rides. And if there is any question whether or not a loved one would enjoy the ride, she will give a trial run for free.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729990960904.jpeg" alt="Sunny Cycling gets the approval of Bob Threlkel and his grandchildren, Gianna and Anno Buich from Colorado Springs, as they greet their grandfather after a ride. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Sunny Cycling gets the approval of Bob Threlkel and his grandchildren, Gianna and Anno Buich from Colorado Springs, as they greet their grandfather after a ride. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>She already has another regular customer besides her mother.Bob Threlkel, a popular retired teacher in Hays known to many as “Mr. T,” suffers from frontal temporal dementia and is a resident of Ascension Living Via Christi Village in Hays.His condition has robbed him of his ability to speak or write, but his smile tells his family just how much he enjoys his outdoor rides and getting out in the sunshine.The Threlkels live in a country home north of Hays and are neighbors of the Flaxes. One day, Flax offered to give Karen&nbsp;Threlkel a trial run when her new bike arrived.Threlkel instantly knew her husband would enjoy such an outing.“It’s such a clear vision being on the front,” Threlkel said. “Bob loves it. We can definitely see that. I think this is a wonderful opportunity for people in nursing facilities to be able to get out in the fresh air.”Flax and Threlkel, a retired registered nurse, both agree that gift cards for rides could be a perfect Christmas or birthday gift for loved ones of any age or health.“I know from personal experience that my mom doesn’t need that many clothes. She doesn’t have room for knick-knacks,” Flax said.While bicycling can seem like a seasonal activity in our area, Flax says she enjoys riding year-round.“It can be 60 or 70 degrees on some winter afternoons, and I’ll go riding,” she said. “So I can do the same with Sunny Cycling. I’m flexible. Call me and set up a time. If the weather is great today and someone calls, I just need 10 minutes to get into town.”To schedule a ride or for more information on Sunny Cycling, Flax is available for a phone call at 785-623-8882.Although this began as an idea to help people who are homebound or have special needs, Flax said these rides can be enjoyed by anyone. Just ask.“I am so excited about this,” Flax said. “This all started with trying to help my mother. If I can help others enjoy life more, too, that’s a huge bonus.”