Medicaid expansion improves oral health

By Tanya Dorf Brunner | April 13, 2021 Kansas is one of only 12 states that has not expanded its Medicaid program. Over 165,000 Kansans would be eligible for health and dental coverage if we expand the KanCare program. So far, the state has forfeited $4.7 million federal dollars because we have failed to expand. […]

Medicaid Expansion Boosts Coverage and Services for People With Disabilities, Despite Critics’ Claims

By Jesse Cross-Call | April 7, 2021 Policymakers in states that haven’t expanded Medicaid are giving it new consideration, in part because of the American Rescue Plan’s large new financial incentive to do so. Expansion opponents have turned to a familiar, and debunked, talking point in response: that funding expansion harms the “truly needy” by […]

Bloomberg: States Have No Good Reason for Refusing to Expand Medicaid

By the Editorial Board | April 2, 2021 It’s a deal any state would be smart to take — but as many as a dozen might be about to say no regardless. They haven’t yet expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act and are being offered enough federal money to cover the full cost, plus […]

It’s Far Past Time: New Medicaid Federal Funding Renews Urgency in Non-Expansion States

By Meghan Farrell | March 26, 2021 This week, in a historic vote, the Wyoming House of Representatives voted to pass Medicaid expansion for the first time in a decade-long fight. Policymakers in Alabama are having serious conversations about what an Alabama-specific expansion plan will look like. Local news outlets are publishing editorials in Kansas […]

Washington Post: In the coronavirus relief package, a prescription to expand Medicaid

By Amy Goldstein | March 15, 2021 Kelly Percival had insurance through her customer service job with a Tampa roofing company when, early last year, she severely fractured her right ankle. After two metal plates and 16 screws to realign her ankle bones and two months off her feet, she called her boss last March […]

KSN: Kansas continues to holdout on expanding Medicaid, advocates urge it could help save rural healthcare

By Kaisha Batman | March 5, 2021 SUBLETTE, Kan. – Should Medicaid expand in Kansas to provide health insurance for more lower income Kansans? It’s been debated for years in Topeka, but never passed. On Wednesday, there was an effort to put it into a bill on the Senate floor, but that did not go […]

Stranded: Rural Hospitals in Crisis

For more than 50 years, Medicaid has been our nation’s health care safety net — paying health care costs for people with very low incomes, people with disabilities, and some older adults. When the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010, it included a provision to expand Medicaid eligibility. A 2012 Supreme Court decision made this […]

Kansas needs Medicaid expansion now more than ever

By Molly Gotobed | Feb. 24, 2021 As the COVID pandemic rages on, health coverage and access to care is more important than ever. Thankfully, we have a new president who is supportive of the Affordable Care Act and recognizes the dire need for coverage. The Biden administration recently re-opened enrollment for the health insurance […]