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.
After describing long wait times, sluggish mail returns and unprecedented call center volumes, state officials announced — two weeks after their initial update — that they are trying to turn things around in the beleaguered department’s Medicaid renewal system.
A Kansas advocacy organization said state records indicated children comprised two-thirds of the 45,000 people who have lost Medicaid coverage for procedural reasons since the restart in April of eligibility assessments halted during the COVID-19 emergency.
The Kansas Medicaid disenrollment rate is one of the highest in the country. Almost two-thirds of Kansans have lost coverage because of procedural issues.
An early detection program provides breast and cervical cancer screening and treatment to uninsured people. Yet potentially hundreds of other Kansans diagnosed with other types of cancer remain without coverage.
Thousands of Kansans are at risk of losing Medicaid coverage as the state begins reviewing who still qualifies after a three-year pause. Experts and health care advocates advise people on how to best prepare.
