Advocates continue fight for Medicaid expansion despite election setback

Health-care advocates are vowing to continue their fight to expand Medicaid in Kansas – despite this week’s election, which expanded the Republican supermajority.

Gov. Laura Kelly, D-Kansas, supports expanding the program to more low-income families under the Affordable Care Act – but conservative lawmakers passed a law forbidding the move.

It’s time for Kelly to consider the nuclear option to expand Medicaid

Wichita Eagle – DION LEFFLER, OPINION EDITOR – After years of legislative refusal to protect the health and well-being of working-poor Kansans, the time has come for Kelly to seriously consider defying the Legislature, inform the federal government she’s accepting expanded Medicaid on behalf of the people of Kansas, and fight it out in court.

gov. kelly talks medicaid expansion, childcare at emporia roundtable

Gov. Laura Kelly discussed the urgent need for Medicaid expansion, shedding light on the challenges faced by the childcare industry and the broader impact on the state’s workforce and economy during a stop in Emporia on Tuesday morning.

Kansas health care coverage lags behind national average for second year

rachel mipro | Kansas reflector September 14, 2023 TOPEKA, Kan. (Kansas Reflector) – Kansas has fallen behind national health insurance trends for the second year in a row, with thousands of state residents falling into a health care coverage gap. Kansas had a higher uninsurance rate than the national average for two consecutive years now, […]

More than 50% of rural hospitals at risk of closing, Kansas governor says there’s simple solution

Expanding Medicaid wouldn’t just help regular people, CEO of William Newton Hospital in Winfield Brian Barta said. Barta said it would also take pressure off hospital systems to come up with costs if a person can’t pay for services and don’t have insurance.

“The cost of us providing care for uninsured and underinsured individuals is about 2 and a half million dollars, and that’s our cost just to break even. So, expanding the coverage to individuals, it’s not going to solve our problems but it’s going to help reduce that burden,” he said.

Opinion: Kan. is on the precipice of change in the mental health arena

Earlier this year, Mental Health America placed Kansas 51st in the nation (including DC) in terms of overall mental health. While Kansas’s 51st ranking isn’t about Medicaid expansion, it’s about Medicaid expansion. Kansas is one of only 10 states in the nation that has not expanded Medicaid.

Chanute Tribune: NMRMC Chief: Medicaid expansion a pressing matter for Kansans, local economy

By: Matt Resnick, Chanute Tribune | November 22, 2022 The Kansas legislature’s failure to act on Medicaid expansion is costing Neosho County citizens dearly, according to Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center CEO Dennis Franks. Kansas is currently one of only 12 states to have yet to implement expanded Medicaid coverage, with South Dakota soon to […]

Kansas Health Institute: Kansas Uninsured Rate Now Higher Than the United States

By: Kansas Health Institute | September 15, 2022 The U.S. Census Bureau today released its latest estimates of health insurance coverage in Kansas and across the United States. Amid state and federal policy decisions to promote access to health insurance coverage during the pandemic, the national uninsured rate fell to the lowest level since the […]