KSNT: Medicaid Expansion could have big impact for Native Americans in Kansas

By Korinne Griffith | Jan. 6, 2020

TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) — It is estimated that 150,000 Kansans will be newly eligible for Medicaid, if Medicaid Expansion is implemented. A new report from the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas shows members of Native American tribes in the state would especially benefit from expansion.

There are four resident Native American tribes in Kansas: the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation and the Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska. All four tribes have come together to pass a resolution in support of Medicaid Expansion.

According to the report from the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, in 2015 nearly 30% of Native Americans aged 18-64 did not have health insurance. The report also found that Native Americans are more likely to not have health insurance compared to the rest of the population.

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