By Sheldon Weisgrau | Oct. 21, 2019 After years of inaction, a Senate committee will finally take up the most urgent health policy issue in Kansas: the expansion of the Medicaid (KanCare) program. The Senate Select Committee on Healthcare Access will meet on October 22-23 to consider an expansion plan developed by Senate Majority Leader […]

By Gov. Laura Kelly | Oct. 19, 2019 In the coming weeks, Kansas lawmakers will begin a renewed conversation about expanding Medicaid coverage in Kansas. I have been clear that Medicaid expansion will be my No. 1 priority in 2020. If we take the right approach, expansion will provide access to health care for roughly […]

By Brad Cooper | Oct. 11, 2019 The Senate plan to expand Medicaid is starting to fall into place, giving supporters hope that 2020 will be the year the Legislature extends medical coverage to an estimated 150,000 Kansans. Led by Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, the Senate has been crafting its own version of an […]

Oct. 1, 2019 Governor Laura Kelly’s call for a bipartisan, Kansas-specific plan to expand Medicaid coverage took an important step forward Monday with the first meeting of the Governor’s Council on Medicaid Expansion. “Many Kansans struggle to cover the costs of basic health care. Some people can’t afford coverage at all. The status quo is […]

“You need to take care of your people in the gap. I think there needs to be something for them that they can afford. I mean that’s your middle class workers. Those are your single moms that are working their butt off trying to stay out of the system to take care of their families, […]

Oct. 1, 2019 An advantage to Kansas holding out on Medicaid expansion is that we can learn from others’ mistakes and successes. That’s being overly generous. After five years, Kansas legislators continue to deny more than 130,000 low-income Kansans health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, costing the state more than $1 billion — and […]

By Tim Carpenter | Sept. 30, 2019 Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly resumed Kansas’ spirited debate on Medicaid expansion by authorizing a large, bipartisan council Monday to serve as policy compass for legislators diving into the controversial issue during the 2020 session. She opened the inaugural meeting of the Governor’s Council on Medicaid Expansion by reminding […]

By Dana Bacon | Oct. 1, 2019 Though the legislative session doesn’t begin until January 13, we already know its tone will be set by a central question: “How best to cover more Kansans by expanding access to the KanCare program?” Lawmakers will likely be tempted to add some controversial and concerning ideas in their […]

By Sheldon Weisgrau | Sept. 25, 2019 The Census Bureau’s annual report on health insurance is out, and the news isn’t good. Despite economic growth and low unemployment, the number of Americans without insurance rose by about 2 million in 2018, continuing an erosion in coverage that began the year before. Prior to that, both […]

By Lauren Weber | Sept. 6, 2019 TOPEKA, Kan. — This was supposed to be the year Medicaid expansion finally happened in Kansas. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, elected in November, had run on the issue. She triumphed in a state that had gone for Trump in 2016 by more than 20 percentage points and replaced […]