TOPEKA — This series of stories produced by Kansas Public Radio and the KHI News Service examines Gov. Sam Brownback’s plan to transform Medicaid.

The governor says his goal is to control the rising cost of the health care program for low-income, elderly and disabled Kansans so that it doesn’t overwhelm other state priorities. At the same time, he says he wants to improve the quality of care being delivered.

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But many Medicaid consumers and groups that advocate for them are concerned about turning the program over to for-profit managed care companies. They fear services will be cut to maximize profits. Adding to their concerns is research that suggests that Medicaid managed care has yet to deliver on the promises being made by the growing list politicians promoting it.

Part 1: To many Kansans, Medicaid is just another welfare program. But it’s really much more than that. Yes, it provides health coverage for low-income mothers and children. But it also serves as a safety net for elderly Kansans. And it’s critical to keeping disabled Kansans in their communities and out of more expensive state hospitals. But the Kansas Medicaid program is undergoing big changes. The state has hired three for-profit companies to manage Medicaid as part of Governor Sam Brownback’s KanCare initiative. Today, we’re launching a week-long series on KanCare produced by Jim McLean of the KHI News Service and KPR’s own Health Reporter, Bryan Thompson. We begin with this report from Jim McLean.

Part 2: Medicaid is the second largest program the State of Kansas operates. Only education consumes more dollars in the state budget. And Medicaid costs have been growing at a faster pace than most other programs. A desire to control costs and improve care is why officials in Gov. Sam Brownback's administration say they are giving the program a complete overhaul. Kansas Public Radio's Bryan Thompson has this report.

Part 3: As we've heard this week in our series on KanCare, Gov. Sam Brownback has two objectives for his overhaul of Medicaid. First, save money. Second, improve the care delivered to the 380,000 Kansans who depend on the program. But how realistic is it that the governor's KanCare program can achieve both of those goals? To answer that question, KHI News Service's Jim McLean turns to some recent research.

Part 4: This week, we've been hearing about KanCare – and how Gov. Brownback's effort to privatize Medicaid is intended to both save money and improve care. In Part 3 of this series, we heard how this kind of managed care seems to be working in some states. In Part 4, Jim McLean of the KHI News Service, takes us to some states where it hasn't worked... at least not yet.

Part 5: Now that KanCare is in effect, Kansans who rely on Medicaid are depending on private insurance companies to pay for their care. Will these companies live up to their contractual obligations? As we wrap up our series on KanCare, Kansas Public Radio's Bryan Thompson takes a closer look at those contracts.

This story package was produced with our partners at Kansas Public Radio. Through our partnership, KPR and KHI produce regular coverage of state health issues. Station locations and more information are at kansaspublicradio.org. All stories produced through this partnership are available at khi.org/kpr.