Hutchinson News: Medicaid expansion must be in recovery
By Debra Teufel | May 20, 2020
There’s no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all our lives. We’ve had to radically shift our professional and personal lives to help flatten the curve. It’s a great sacrifice but important to our community health.
The Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce and our peers across Kansas are working hard to help safely reopen our economy. We are concerned about the economic effects the coronavirus outbreak has had on Kansas communities.
Expanding the eligibility guidelines for KanCare is one tool that absolutely should be included in any plan to restore the state economy.
The benefits of expansion are three-fold. First, expansion will jumpstart Kansas’ economy by bringing nearly $700 million of new funding into the state. Those health care dollars can help rebuild local economies and help us prepare should we face another round of COVID-19.