Kansas Medicaid: A Primer

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Medicaid, on average, pays for four out of every ten babies in Kansas. In some counties, the government-funded program covers two-thirds of the births. Health officials say the reliance on Medicaid is driven by poverty and by working families not having access to – or not being able to afford - health insurance. Makinna M. Sparks, above, is the daughter of Calvin Sparks and Sally Coeme of Coffeyville. The family drove more than 80 miles to the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, Pittsburg, for medical care.

Rob Poole

Medicaid, on average, pays for four out of every ten babies in Kansas. In some counties, the government-funded program covers two-thirds of the births. Health officials say the reliance on Medicaid is driven by poverty and by working families not having access to – or not being able to afford - health insurance. Makinna M. Sparks, above, is the daughter of Calvin Sparks and Sally Coeme of Coffeyville. The family drove more than 80 miles to the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, Pittsburg, for medical care.

By Kansas Legislative Research Department and Kansas Health Institute Feb. 1, 2009

This report is designed to serve as an introduction to the Kansas Medicaid program, a state/federal partnership that provided health insurance coverage to approximately 250,000 Kansans in 2008.

Important information in the primer includes:

• The federal government contributes approximately $1.50 for every dollar of state Medicaid spending in Kansas;

• In 2008, Medicaid accounted for nearly 15 percent of the state budget (State General Fund only) and represented a significant portion of total spending on health care services. It was second only to K-12 education in terms of state spending;

• While children and pregnant women comprised two-thirds all Medicaid enrollees in 2008, they incurred less than one-quarter of Medicaid expenditures;

• In 2008, 21 percent of all Medicaid enrollees in Kansas were disabled, but this population incurred 51 percent of total state expenditures for the program;

• Adults that are not parents, pregnant, disabled or elderly are not eligible for Medicaid in Kansas.

Kansas Medicaid: A Primer was jointly produced by the Kansas Legislative Research Department and the Kansas Health Institute, with technical assistance from the Kansas Health Policy Authority.

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Kansas Medicaid: A Primer (2009)

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