Stories From the Coverage Gap

rally for kancare expansion

Attending the Rally for KanCare expansion at the Kansas Statehouse on Wednesday, March 15, 2023? Here are the details and resources you might need.

The Rally will take place in the Kansas Statehouse, 2nd floor north wing. The Kansas Statehouse is located in Topeka at SW 8th St & SW Van Buren St. There are various parking options around the statehouse, including street metered parking, the Statehouse Visitor garage (limited spaces & time limits apply), and other parking garages.

new report confirms benefits of kancare expansion to behavioral health system

Expansion of the state’s Medicaid program, KanCare, would have a significant effect on the state’s behavioral health system, according to a new study from the Kansas Health Institute. The study showed that, among other things, KanCare expansion would lead to increased resources for behavioral health providers; decrease the costs of county jails in Kansas; and reduce the number of children entering the Kansas foster care system due to neglect. Kansas is one of only eleven states in the national who haven’t expanded their Medicaid programs.

Blog: Beginning the 2023 legislative session

Welcome to 2023! We find ourselves at the beginning of a new legislative session filled with fresh opportunities for positive policy change and an enormous need for citizen engagement in the legislative process. If you are reading this, there is a good chance that you support KanCare expansion as a way to provide increased access to affordable health care for tens of thousands of low-wage Kansans in need of coverage. We are delighted to have you alongside us in the movement for expansion!

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.

Georgia launches Medicaid Expansion in closely watched test of work requirements

Georgia is offering a new bargain to some adults without health insurance beginning Saturday: Go to work or school and the state will cover you. But advocates decry the plan, which will insure far fewer people than a full expansion of the state-federal Medicaid program, as needlessly restrictive and expensive.

The program is likely to be closely watched as Republicans in Congress push to let states require work from some current Medicaid enrollees. Georgia would be the only state that requires Medicaid recipients to meet a work requirement.