Submitted by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
Jefferson City, Missouri - Gov. Jay Nixon today announced that the Missouri Department of Insurance would notify health insurers serving the individual and small group markets in Missouri that any Missouri-compliant plans previously set to expire on Dec. 31 would be allowed to continue into 2014.
“Today’s announcement seeks to address the recent uncertainty and disruptions policyholders have faced as a result of federal regulations and is yet another example of how states are better-positioned to provide efficient and effective oversight of the insurance market,” Gov. Nixon said. “Here in Missouri, my administration has been committed from Day One to fostering a stable, predictable insurance market and making sure Missourians have access to quality, affordable health insurance options. I applaud Director Huff for his continued efforts to provide certainty in this area and ensure all Missourians, including those affected by recent disruptions in the insurance market, have access to quality, affordable health coverage.”
“In an effort to give Missourians as many insurance options as possible, the department will expedite the process for health insurance companies wishing to continue their Missouri-compliant plans into next year,” said John M. Huff, Director of the Missouri Department of Insurance. “The department has not identified any Missouri law prohibiting this coverage to continue, so we will continue to communicate with affected Missouri insurance companies to ensure that the best interests and needs of the consumers are met.”
On November 14, 2013, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a letter to states describing a transitional policy that would allow policyholders to continue their coverage that was in effect on October 1, 2013, which would otherwise have been cancelled for non-compliance with federal health care reforms.
A copy of the department’s bulletin to health insurance companies is available here.
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
Southeast Missouri - From the National Weather Service in
Paducah, Kentucky a Hazardous Weather Outlook has been
issued.
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. .
DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY BEGINS THIS AFTERNOON AND LASTS THROUGH THE NIGHT FOR AREAS GENERALLY NORTH OF A LINE FROM DONIPHAN AND CAPE GIRARDEAU MISSOURI EASTWARD TO HARRISBURG ILLINOIS AND EVANSVILLE INDIANA.
PLEASE REFER TO THE ADVISORY PRODUCT FOR DETAILS.
DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY WILL CONTINUE THROUGH NOON SATURDAY. PLEASE REFER TO THE ADVISORY PRODUCT FOR DETAILS.
SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. HOWEVER...REPORTS OF PRECIPITATION TYPE...SNOW AND SLEET ACCUMULATIONS AND ROAD CONDITIONS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING.
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
Missouri - Gov. Jay Nixon today nominated retired veteran law enforcement officer Dennis Fowler, of Advance, to serve on the Board of Probation and Parole. The seven-member Board of Probation and Parole is responsible for determining whether a person confined in the Department of Corrections shall be paroled or conditionally released, and for supervising all persons on probation and parole.
Fowler served as a law enforcement officer for 38 years, before being elected in 2012 to represent District 151 in the Missouri House of Representatives. His law enforcement experience includes serving as the superintendent of detention at the Stoddard County Juvenile Detention Center from 2005 to 2012 and as a deputy sheriff with the SEMO Drug Task Force and Probation and Parole from 1993 to 2005. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy with the Naval Security Group Activity in Bremerhaven, Germany. Fowler obtained his degree in criminal justice from Southeast Missouri State University.
Fowler’s nomination will be subject to confirmation by the Missouri Senate.
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
MoDOT's Traveler Information Map, located at www.modot.org, offers real-time views of road conditions for Missouri's interstates and major highways. Conditions are color-coded, giving users accurate information at a glance. For more details, users can activate closed circuit video cameras along major routes for instant visual information. The map also shows message boards across the state, highways closures due to crashes or other incidents, and has links to similar maps for surrounding states.
For smartphone and tablet users, MoDOT's Traveler Information App brings the same information to your mobile devices. Users can select road condition and work zone options from the map's legend, and view the same cameras and message boards found on desktop version of the map. The app is available for free at the iPhone App Store and Android Marketplace.
If you prefer, tailor MoDOT's e-mail and text alerts to your specific needs. Sign up to receive information about individual counties or routes by subscribing to MoDOT's e-update system, at www.modot.org/eMoDOTWeb.
If MoDOT's electronic information isn't convenient for you, pick up the phone and call our toll-free customer service center at 888-ASK-MODOT (888-275-6636). Customer service representatives are available to take your call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They can give you current road conditions for anywhere in the state.
Remember, even light precipitation can cause roads to become slick with ice or snow. MoDOT crews will work hard to treat and clear state routes as the winter weather hits, but it's important to allow extra time for travel and check road conditions before you head out.
Find more information and winter driving tips at www.modot.org/road_conditions/winterdrivingtips.htm.
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
Also, by order of the Governor, all flags at all State and government offices will be flown at half-staff, in Butler County only, from sunrise Sunday, December 15, 2013, until sunset on Friday, December 20, 2013, in memory of Staff Sergeant Eric William Summers.
Your office is responsible for distributing this information throughout your department for compliance with this order on December 14, 2013.
Summers, age 32, of Poplar Bluff, was a United States Marine who died on Nov. 13 while serving his country at Camp Pendleton, Calif. In addition, Nixon has ordered that the U.S. and Missouri flags at all state buildings in Butler County be flown at half-staff from Dec. 15 to Dec. 20.
“We honor the bravery and dedication of Marine Staff Sergeant Summers, and I ask all Missourians to remember his sacrifice when they see the lowered flags,” Nixon said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.”
"Summers, who served 13 with the Marines, was assigned to the 3rd Marine Air Wing, Marine Wing Support Group 37, Marine Wing Support Squadron 372 at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. His awards and decorations include the Navy Commendation Medal, with Combat Distinguishing Device in lieu of third award; the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal; and the Good Conduct Medal in lieu of third award."
"Four bomb-removal technicians killed at Camp Pendleton during a training exercise, including Summers, two Marines from California, and one from Louisiana. The two Californians killed were 28-year-old Staff Sgt. Mathew R. Marsh of Long Beach, who had been a Marine since 2003, and 27-year-old Sgt. Miguel Ortiz of Vista, a Marine since 2006. Also killed was 31-year-old Gunnery Sgt. J. Mullins of Bayou L’Ourse, La., an 11-year Marine Corps veteran. A Navy Hospital Corpsman and two Marines near the accident suffered minor injuries in the explosion."
"Summers is being returned to Southwest Missouri tonight, and his community has turned out to honor his return so that he may be laid to rest. More than 2,300 American flags lined the streets of Poplar Bluff by Wednesday night. Local news agencies report that hundreds of volunteers also put American flags into the ground from where the services will take place to where summers will be buried."
