Navigators help people enroll in Medicaid and insurance on the federal marketplace. Federal funding cuts by the Trump administration mean Kansas will have fewer navigators.
Kansas organizations advocating for sustained funding for Medicaid services said hundreds of billions of dollars in proposed federal budget cuts to the national health program can be deadly to vulnerable people with disabilities as well as seniors and children.
A Kansas House committee has been gathering testimony on a wide range of reform options for Kansans with disabilities. That includes a four-year plan endorsed by advocates to invest $13.6 million to help people with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
Before Kansas officials revealed they had ousted Aetna Better Health as one of the providers for the state’s $4 billion Medicaid program, they destroyed documents that Aetna believes would have helped the company appeal the decision.
Kansans are uninsured at a rate higher than the rest of the country for a third straight year, but the effects of Medicaid “unwinding” have yet to be seen, recent U.S. Census Bureau data shows.
KanCare, Kansas’ Medicaid program, will cover doula services for its pregnant beneficiaries beginning July 1. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said the policy change aims to improve maternal health outcomes in Kansas.
As the dust settles on the state’s bumpy large-scale review of Medicaid eligibility, numbers show approximately 47% of Kansans kicked off of state health insurance coverage are 18 or younger.
Kansas is close to determining who will remain eligible for Medicaid after months of glitches and ongoing confusion over how to reapply. Current estimates suggest thousands of Kansans will be removed from the system.
A significant majority of Kansans support expanding Medicaid — including more than half of Republicans — according to the 2023 Kansas Speaks public opinion survey.
Kansas administrators of the Medicaid program estimate 12,000 adults or children eligible for the health coverage program were stripped of benefits due to problems with processing renewals.
