Health reform has not played such a dominant role in public debate and policymaking for nearly 20 years. While there is growing agreement that fundamental changes must be made given the growing costs of health care and the toll that takes on individuals and the economy, there is still wide disagreement on what meaningful reform should entail. KHI researchers and journalists monitor and report on health reform efforts at the state and federal levels.
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Development of the state's $139 million Medicaid enrollment system is currently "on time" and "within the budget," said Dr. Robert Moser, secretary of the agency spearheading the project. However, Moser said meeting the deadline has been complicated by the fact that details for connecting to the exchange have yet to be finalized by the federal government.
0 | Mar. 21, 2013 |
This Kansas Health Institute health reform brief examines how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) may affect Kansans with mental illness as well as mental health providers.
0 | Feb. 19, 2013 |
A discussion of recent estimates on the cost of expanding Medicaid if Kansas were to do so under the Affordable Care Act. was hosted today by the Kansas Health Institute, the Kansas Policy Institute, and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
0 | Jan. 31, 2013 |
The Kansas Health Institute conducted a study about how Kansans perceive the health care system and the Affordable Care Act. The study produced two briefs, “Kansans Share Thoughts on Health Care System” and “What Do Kansans Know about Health Reform?”
0 | Jan. 08, 2013 |
In 2014, the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate will require nearly all U.S. citizens to have health insurance. The health reform law also requires each state to have an online marketplace known as a health insurance exchange where people can obtain insurance. This new issue brief — the eighth in a series focusing on health reform — examines which Kansans would be most likely to use a health insurance exchange.
0 | Dec. 04, 2012 |
This new issue brief examines the effects of a health reform provision to expand Medicaid eligibility for low-income adults.
0 | May. 15, 2013 |
At least four Kansas coalitions plan to apply for federal grants aimed at helping consumers navigate the new, online health insurance marketplaces that are supposed to be in place nationwide by Oct. 1 as part of the Affordable Care Act.
0 | May. 14, 2013 |
That sigh of relief you heard Monday was from hospital administrators in nearly two dozen states, including Florida, Texas and Kansas. That’s because the Obama administration announced Monday that for the next two years, it doesn’t plan to penalize states that have yet to expand Medicaid coverage under the federal health law by targeting them for reduced Medicaid funding.
0 | May. 14, 2013 |
Last week the Arkansas legislature approved a plan to give Medicaid beneficiaries money to buy individual policies from private insurers on the state’s health insurance exchange. One insurer is already expressing interest.
0 | May. 14, 2013 |
Republican Colorado state Sen. Larry Crowder said he couldn’t vote against the bill when hospitals in his district are strained to the breaking point caring for the uninsured. Colorado hospitals strongly support the expansion, saying it will replace many of their unpaid bills with new Medicaid payments.
0 | May. 13, 2013 |
The building of a new Kansas Medicaid eligibility and enrollment system intended to be interoperable with the new federal health insurance marketplace remains on budget, according to the state's project overseer. But the system's planned connection to the federal insurance exchange could slip behind schedule, if federal officials don't pick up the pace on their end.
0 | May. 15, 2013 |
Rep. John Rubin, a Shawnee Republican, has been collecting signatures from fellow House members who support extending for another year the "carve-out" of long-term supports for the developmentally disabled from KanCare.
0 | May. 16, 2013 |
For many generations, Kansans were governed by experienced, educated and thoughtful people who realized the great difference that government had made in their lives. The people elected to office had known lives before a time of new and noble purpose. They had come through a civil war, a panic, a great depression and two world wars. They saw the need for a government. It could not go away.
0 | May. 16, 2013 |
The Kansas Department for Aging and Disabilty Services has been conducting a listening tour to collect public input on Gov. Sam Brownback's mental health initiative. In Manhattan, critics said the mental health system is stretched too thin to do more without additional funding.
0 | Dec. 12, 2011 |
Kansas has used a managed care company to provide prison health care services since 1988. Correct Care Solutions, the current provider, signed its first contract with Kansas in 2005. The current contract is up for renewal in 2018. Officials said the fact the contract is for a relatively long term allows for more stability and better cost control.
1 | May. 18, 2013 |
Over the five decades leading to a new millennium, state government in Kansas had assumed a rhythm of reform and advancement. Today it thrums with the drone of demolition.
0 | Apr. 18, 2013 |
Officials at Johnson County Meals on Wheels say they are hoping the program can become a national model for preventing hospital readmissions among senior citizens.
1 | May. 18, 2013 |
Over the five decades leading to a new millennium, state government in Kansas had assumed a rhythm of reform and advancement. Today it thrums with the drone of demolition.
5 | Oct. 23, 2012 |
The Kansas Health Institute recently completed its first health impact assessment, which examined the potential health effects associated with casino development in Southeast Kansas. This new report features findings of the health impact assessment and outlines recommendations to maximize the positive health benefits of a proposed casino and mitigate its potential negative effects on health.
5 | Nov. 01, 2010 |
Proponents say e-cigarettes deliver only nicotine with none of the hazardous chemicals of traditional cigarettes. The smoke-like vapor emitted is virtually odorless and harmless, they say. But opponents say little is known of e-cigarettes' health effects and until they've been rigorously studied, they should be banned - at least from public spaces.
2 | Apr. 22, 2013 |
Gov. Sam Brownback signed into law a bill requiring the University of Kansas Medical Center to create a center for conducting non-embryonic stem cell research.
1 | May. 01, 2013 |
Larned State Hospital has fired its nursing director, but state officials would not comment on why, according to a report published by the Garden City Telegram. The hospital — one of two state-run inpatient facilities for mentally ill adults — has struggled with staffing issues in recent years.
1 | Apr. 30, 2013 |
Federal health officials today released the forms to be used by applicants for health insurance coverage through the online exchanges or marketplaces that are scheduled to be in place in each of the states by Oct. 1.
Frequently Asked Questions
about health reform answered
by Kansas Insurance Commissioner
Sandy Praeger:
→ Part 1
→ Part 2
→ Part 3
→ Part 4
KHI Briefs on Health Reform
→ Affordable Care Act Will Increase Coverage, Demand for Mental Health Services
→ Kansans Share Thoughts on Health Care System and Affordable Care Act
→ Insurance Exchange Will Provide Many Kansas Consumers With New Options
→ ACA Medicaid Expansion: Enrollment and Cost Estimates for Kansas Policymakers
→ What the Supreme Court Ruling on Health Reform May Mean for Kansans
→ What the Affordable Care Act Could Mean for Kansas Employers and Health Insurance
→ Medicare Changes Include Care Coordination and Prescription Drug Costs
→ Affordable Care Act's Expansion of Medicaid Expected to Boost Kansas Enrollment
→ A Health Insurance Exchange in Kansas? Decisions and Deadlines Ahead for State Leaders
→ The Impact of Health Reform on Insurance Benefits and Mandates in Kansas
→ The Impact of Health Reform on Health Insurance Coverage in Kansas
→ Resource document: Terms and definitions
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