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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas health officials say a person from the Kansas City area has died of a rare infection caused by an amoeba that lives in freshwater lakes and rivers.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said Friday it's only the state's second known case of a person contracting primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (meh-NIHN'-goh-en-seh-fah-LY'-tis), or "PAM."

The agency identified the person who died as a resident of Johnson County but did not give other details. Officials said the person had been exposed to several bodies of fresh water in Kansas.

PAM is typically contracted when the amoeba enters the nose of someone diving or swimming underwater and travels to the brain.

The infection is not contagious among people. It cannot be contracted from a properly maintained swimming pool.

NEW YORK (AP) — WellPoint CEO Joseph Swedish says that when people ask what a doctor's appointment will be like in the future, they assume that patients will physically have to visit an office.

They're wrong, the insurance executive told The Associated Press during an interview at its New York headquarters.

"I would argue that will no longer be necessary in the not too distant future," Swedish said after pulling out a smartphone to show how it can be used to help remotely diagnose problems like ear infections.

Swedish says adapting to technology is a top priority for him as he leads the nation's second largest health insurer. The U.S. health care overhaul also is a big focus for WellPoint Inc., which is one of the biggest players in the overhaul's public insurance exchanges. The largely online exchanges debuted last fall and helped roughly 8 million people find coverage.

Swedish has gotten a good reception from Wall Street since taking the top job at WellPoint last year after a long career running large hospital networks. The Blue Cross Blue Shield insurer's stock has climbed about 76 percent since WellPoint named him CEO — more than twice the growth of the Standard & Poor's 500 index over the same period.

During the AP interview, Swedish talked about a variety of topics, including how WellPoint is adapting its coverage to keep up with rapidly changing technology and about getting customers prepared for health care decisions they may not be ready to make.

Below are four takeaways from the interview:

RIDING TECHNOLOGY WAVES

WellPoint is adapting to technology by doing things like covering visits to workplace health kiosks, where a company's employees can speak live with a doctor and get diagnosed without leaving the office. It's also testing a program that allows a mom to attach an otoscope to her smartphone and let a doctor remotely peer inside her child's ears. That doctor can then electronically file a prescription, and the mom doesn't have to miss work for the doctor's appointment.

These advances can make care access easier, and they cater to younger generations that have grown up with smartphones.

"We really have to pivot and adapt to the demands of the consumer," Swedish said.

DATA MINING

Marketers have used so-called big data for years to figure out where consumers spend their money. Swedish calls the 581 million medical claims that WellPoint processes every year an "incredible data mine" that can offer valuable insights. Data mining can help WellPoint determine whether patients are filling prescriptions and if they need reminders about follow-up care.

Insurers see what some may call a form of cyber nagging as ways to improve care and cut costs in the long run. That happens when the diabetic who is prodded to keep up with his care doesn't develop heart disease and wind up in the emergency room with a heart attack.

A TOUGH TRANSITION

The days of people simply using whatever health plan their employer offered are starting to fade. They now face choices, so they have to figure out which plan offers the best doctors for their needs or which coverage has manageable out-of-pocket costs.

Insurance also isn't covering as much of the bill as it used to, which exposes patients more to health care costs. That means they have to figure out how to shop around for both the best deal and good quality.

Swedish said consumers aren't yet ready for this industry-wide shift toward health care shopping, and it will be a difficult transition.

"We now have a responsibility to give people information that they can understand," he said.

THE OVERHAUL PART II

Technology glitches and crashes marred last year's debut of the health care overhaul's public insurance exchanges. The federal government labored feverishly to improve the exchanges, but Swedish still expects some problems when a new enrollment period starts this fall for insurance that begins in 2015. Millions will seek coverage and those who signed up last year also will have to re-enroll.

"My concern is (the exchanges) may not be as fluid and flexible and accommodating as is necessary," he said.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden on Friday condemned the political gridlock crippling Washington, calling on Republican and Democratic governors alike to lead the nation "out of this mess" while insisting that Congress approve billions of dollars to repair the country's aging infrastructure.

"The way things have gotten today, and I'm not singling out any party or any group of people — the politics, the culture in Washington, it's become too personal, it's too corrosive," Biden said during a meeting of the National Governors Association. "I think you've got to lead us out of this mess we're in."

The vice president's comments came during the first day of the governors' three-day conference in Nashville, where state leaders from both parties gathered to collaborate despite intensifying partisan differences on immigration, health care and education.

Despite the bipartisan tone, the approaching midterm elections loomed over the gathering.

Many governors face voters in an election season that will decide the balance of power in statehouses from Nevada to New Hampshire and could end some presidential campaigns before they begin.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a first-term governor locked in a heated re-election battle, lead a group of ambitious Republicans that appeared at the downtown Nashville conference. Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley is among the Democrats weighing a 2016 presidential run.

"You can be in a room where you have six, seven, eight people who are thinking they might run for president in two years, which makes for some interesting personal dynamics at times," Tennessee's Republican Gov. Bill Haslam said.

Biden, a possible presidential contender himself, struck a distinctly cooperative tone in his remarks.

The political climate in Washington, he said, was less divisive when he began serving in the Senate more than three decades ago, a time when white segregationists served openly in Congress.

"Even in those days, the politics was intense, ideological differences were real, but it never got to where it is today," Biden said. "It was never personal. It was never cast in the context of you're good or bad."

Biden said Democrats and Republicans have long agreed on the need to invest in the nation's infrastructure and workforce development, although in the current climate even infrastructure spending is bogged down by politics. Governors have been concerned about the impending deadline for Congress to pay for the federal Highway Trust Fund, which helps states maintain their transportation infrastructure. While a short-term bill is expected to clear Congress, governors want a long-term plan.

But most governors attending the event were hesitant to suggest specific solutions to bridge a funding shortfall.

Fuel taxes are the Highway Trust Fund's main revenue source, but they haven't been raised in 21 years and aren't keeping pace with spending. A bipartisan Senate proposal to increase the federal gas tax has so far failed to gain traction.

"I'm sort of indifferent as to the source of the funding," said Jack Markell, the Democratic governor of Delaware, which was forced to close a damaged interstate bridge last month. "But I think what we can't have is a series of these eight-month stop-gap measures."

Walker, the Wisconsin Republican, would not endorse an increase in the federal gas tax when asked, but he called for "other revenue options."

"It's a big deal," Walker said. "So many states like Wisconsin are dependent on the federal gas tax."

Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear of Kentucky said his state has had to put $185 million of road projects on hold because of the congressional impasse.

It's unclear what role, if any, infrastructure problems will play in the coming elections, although Washington's struggle with what was long a bipartisan issue is emblematic of voters' overall view of Congress, which is at historic lows.

"We're looking to you," Biden told the governors. "Continue to teach us a lesson by getting along with one another."