Insurance Coverage

The Annual Insurance Update 2012 takes an in-depth look at information from the U.S. Census Bureau on Kansans and health insurance coverage.

Key points include:

• About 365,000 Kansans, or 13.1 percent, are uninsured. The Kansas rate is much lower than the national rate, which was 16.0 percent in 2010-2011.
• Uninsured rates for Kansans younger than 65 vary significantly by county.
• Employment-based insurance continues to be the most common source of coverage for Kansans, particularly those younger than 65.
• More than half (58.9 percent) of all uninsured Kansans are between the ages of 19 and 44.

Annual Insurance Update 2012

0 | Health Insurance

As efforts to reform the health care system — nationally and here in Kansas — continue, this Annual Insurance Update 2012 provides new information from the U.S. Census Bureau on insurance coverage in Kansas.

Policy and Research

Annual Insurance Update 2012

0 | Apr. 17, 2013 | Health Insurance

As efforts to reform the health care system — nationally and here in Kansas — continue, this Annual Insurance Update 2012 provides new information from the U.S. Census Bureau on insurance coverage in Kansas.

Issue Briefs: Kansans Share Thoughts on Health Care System and Affordable Care Act

0 | Jan. 31, 2013 | Health Insurance, Health Reform

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?”

Issue Brief: Insurance Exchange Will Provide Many Kansas Consumers With New Options

0 | Jan. 08, 2013 | Health Insurance, Health Reform

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.

Issue Brief: ACA Medicaid Expansion: Enrollment and Cost Estimates for Kansas Policymakers

0 | Dec. 04, 2012 | Health Insurance, Health Reform, Medicaid-CHIP

This new issue brief examines the effects of a health reform provision to expand Medicaid eligibility for low-income adults.

Webinar: "Health Reform in Kansas — What Happens Now?"

1 | Dec. 03, 2012 | Health Insurance, Health Reform

The continued implementation of the Affordable Care Act and the launch of KanCare ensure that the upcoming legislative session and beyond will be busy and eventful.

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News

Personal Care Attendants: KanCare's unheralded workers

1 | May. 20, 2013 | KanCare, Medicaid-CHIP

Every day a small army of Kansans — officials estimate there are about 16,000 of them — are at work helping some of the state’s neediest cope with the demands of daily life so that they can remain in their own homes rather than nursing homes or state institutions.

Feds make it easier for states to enroll poor under health law

0 | May. 20, 2013 | Health Reform, Medicaid-CHIP

Allowing adults to stay in the program when their income changes is a “big deal,” said Alan Weil, executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy.

At least four Kansas coalitions applying for navigator grants

0 | May. 15, 2013 | Health Reform, Insurance

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.

CMS won’t penalize hospitals in states slow to expand Medicaid

0 | May. 14, 2013 | Health Reform, Medicaid-CHIP

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.

Insurer Centene: We can do Arkansas-style Medicaid

0 | May. 14, 2013 | Health Reform, Medicaid-CHIP

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.

A New Confederacy

2 | May. 18, 2013 | Commentary

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.

Personal Care Attendants: KanCare's unheralded workers

1 | May. 20, 2013 | KanCare, Medicaid-CHIP

Every day a small army of Kansans — officials estimate there are about 16,000 of them — are at work helping some of the state’s neediest cope with the demands of daily life so that they can remain in their own homes rather than nursing homes or state institutions.

When Government Worked for Kansas

0 | May. 16, 2013 | Commentary

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.

The ’80s, Carlin’s Legacy and Beyond

0 | May. 17, 2013 | Commentary

The 1980s and 1990s were the last decades of significant and compelling reform in Kansas. The legislative agenda seemed dominated by Democrat Gov. John Carlin but he could not have seen through reforms without help from Republicans and their leaders.

New Medicaid enrollment system remains on track

0 | May. 13, 2013 | Health Reform, Medicaid-CHIP

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.

Kansas drug disposal program collects 6,000 pounds of medications in first year

0 | May. 14, 2013 | Environment

Pharmacist Lori Murdock recently signed up for the medication disposal program run by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, she said, because it's the right thing to do. “It’s a big concern to the public and the general population to say, ‘OK, I can’t just keep flushing this stuff … and I really don’t want to put it in the trash because who knows who can get into it and where is it going,’” Murdock said. “Our population is getting more interested in doing the right things.”

A New Confederacy

2 | May. 18, 2013 | Commentary

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.

Personal Care Attendants: KanCare's unheralded workers

1 | May. 20, 2013 | KanCare, Medicaid-CHIP

Every day a small army of Kansans — officials estimate there are about 16,000 of them — are at work helping some of the state’s neediest cope with the demands of daily life so that they can remain in their own homes rather than nursing homes or state institutions.

Kansas HIA Report: Potential Health Effects of Casino Development in Southeast Kansas

5 | Oct. 23, 2012 | Community Health, Public Health Systems and Services

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.

E-cigarettes unregulated until legal status determined

5 | Nov. 01, 2010 | Agencies, Tobacco

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.

Governor signs into law stem cell center bill

2 | Apr. 22, 2013 | KU Medical Center

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.

Larned State Hospital nursing director fired

1 | May. 01, 2013 | Workforce, Hospitals, Mental Health

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.

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