Kansas Stories: Isobeau

December 2024

Isobeau, who is a Chinese medicine practitioner and acupuncturist, moved back to Haysville from Brooklyn in 2022 due to COVID-19 and to care for her elderly mother. She has a son who is currently a senior in college. Over the past two years she’s been working part-time to build her practice while also providing care for her mother. These responsibilities have limited her income.

While she lived in New York she was eligible for Medicaid coverage because New York expanded their Medicaid program in 2014. When she moved to Kansas she fell into the coverage gap and is now uninsured because Kansas has not yet expanded our Medicaid program.

Isobeau prefers a balanced approach to health care, using natural healing methods whenever possible. She budgets for routine health care expenses out of pocket. However, last year she slipped on black ice and broke her arm, requiring a visit to the emergency room and follow-up with an orthopedist. Her recovery from this injury has prevented her from working.

Fortunately, she found coverage for these costs through a program call Project Access. Project Access is a nonprofit in Wichita that assists uninsured individuals with health care costs and prescriptions. While it provides valuable support, its services are limited. Only Wichita residents are eligible and the program cannot meet the high demand from everyone who applies.

Last year Isobeau also began experiencing symptoms that required urgent medical attention due to splenomegaly, a condition that comes from the enlargement of the spleen. Fortunately Project Access was able to assist her with her expenses again, which prevented her from incurring excessive medical debt. Without the help of Project Access she would have faced significant financial burdens.

While Project Access is a great resource, it only serves a small part of the population in Kansas, specifically those in the Wichita area. Since its inception, Project Access has served nearly 14,000 people in Wichita. But this is only a fraction of the nearly 250,000 Kansans who are uninsured.

Expanding Medicaid in Kansas could significantly benefit Isobeau and many others across the state. It would not only benefit the uninsured Kansans who don’t have access to affordable health insurance, but would also support rural hospitals, create jobs, and reduce overall health care costs for everyone.

If Isobeau were still in New York, she would have access to Medicaid, because New York has already expanded their Medicaid program to cover more low-income individuals. Despite her work to build her practice and care for her elderly mother, she has encountered many financial and health care hurdles. Isobeau faces life without health insurance every day.

Kansas policymakers must ensure that Kansans like Isobeau can get the health care they need without facing financial strain or medical debt. Medicaid expansion is an essential policy that Kansas must adopt to strengthen the health care system and keep Kansans healthy.