Safety Net

The Kansas safety net system provides health care and preventive services to many who otherwise might do without. The system is made up of providers who are required to provide care for patients regardless of the patient's ability to pay; providers who voluntarily provide charity care; and programs that use public funds to operate. With recent economic troubles, demand for these services has only increased. KHI researchers evaluate the system and help plan strategies to sustain and improve it. KHI journalists work to keep policymakers and the public abreast of safety net developments.

Photo by Phil Cauthon

Advocates for mid-level dental providers meet with legislators

0 | Advocacy, Legislature, Oral Health, Safety Net

About 30 dental hygienists from around the state traveled to Topeka to ask their legislators to approve the licensing of mid-level dental providers.

Policy and Research

Health Insurance and the Uninsured in Kansas

0 | Apr. 30, 2009 | Child Health, Health Insurance, Medicaid-CHIP, Safety Net

This annual publication of the Kansas Health Institute provides a snapshot of the insurance status of Kansans in various categories, including age, gender and work status. It also describes how the insurance status of Kansans is changing over time.

Safety Net System in Kansas

0 | Jan. 22, 2009 | KHI Legislative Testimony, Safety Net

Gina Maree, vice president of Health Policy for the Kansas Health Institute, delivered this presentation on Kansas' safety net system to the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee in January, 2009.

The Uninsured in Kansas

0 | Sep. 11, 2008 | Health Insurance, Medicaid-CHIP, Safety Net

New U.S. Census data show that Kansas is one of 10 states in which the uninsured rate went up in the last two years. This KHI fact sheet also provides information about the age and work status of uninsured Kansans.

Kansas Mission of Mercy - Garden City: Patient Characteristics, Needs, and Satisfaction

0 | Aug. 27, 2008 | Health Care Delivery, Rural Health, Safety Net

More than 15 percent of the patients served by a free dental clinic early this year reported they have never been to a dentist.

Uninsured Young Adults in Kansas

0 | Jun. 02, 2008 | Health Insurance, Safety Net

Twenty-three percent of Kansans age 19-34 are uninsured. This fact sheet discusses this population and why these individuals are more likely to be uninsured than any other age group.

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News

Safety-net providers moving forward with health information exchange

0 | May. 09, 2013 | HIE-HIT, Safety Net

With initial assistance from the REACH Healthcare Foundation, more than a dozen safety-net medical providers in Johnson and Wyandotte counties have started working to improve care coordination by sharing patient records electronically.

Philanthropic initiative aimed at improving safety-net services

0 | Apr. 01, 2013 | Foundations, Safety Net

Nearly 30 medical safety-net providers throughout Kansas are participating in a philanthropic effort aimed at improving the coordination of medical and mental health services.

AG to review sale of two Kansas hospitals

0 | Mar. 28, 2013 | Hospitals, Safety Net

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said Wednesday night that he would make it a priority for his office to review the proposed sale of two area safety-net hospitals to an out-of-state company. But he declined to speculate on how long the review might take. Most of the people who spoke at a public hearing on the issue said they supported the sale of the non-profit Providence Medical Center and St. John hospitals to Prime Healthcare Services.

Safety-net clinics struggling with KanCare

0 | Mar. 04, 2013 | KanCare, Medicaid-CHIP, Safety Net

While acknowledging “bumps in the road,” state officials for several weeks have been saying that the launch of KanCare, the state’s new Medicaid program, has been going better than they expected. But people who work at some of the clinics that specialize in treating poor and uninsured Kansans describe it differently.

Effort underway to link safety net clinics with health information exchanges

0 | Feb. 14, 2013 | Foundations, HIE-HIT, Safety Net

Regional healthcare officials say they are close to hiring a consultant to help the safety net providers connect to patient-record-sharing networks known as health information exchanges.

Kansas insurance officials hope to give federal insurance exchange a local flavor

2 | Jun. 18, 2013 | Health Reform, Insurance

Kansas is among the states where federal officials will run the new health insurance exchanges but the state’s top insurance regulators said they hope to inject a local flavor. Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger said her agency has been in discussion with the feds about having some of the more complex calls to the exchange’s toll-free helpline roll over to her department so that Kansas consumers come in touch quickly with local people more familiar with the Kansas insurance plans offered in the exchange and the governing regulations.

Budget earmark for reading program raises questions

0 | Jun. 17, 2013 | Budget, Children, Legislature

A late, largely unnoticed addition to the budget bill that was approved in the final days of this year’s legislative session appears to be a boon for a Kansas company that sells access to a computer program intended to help elementary students learn to read.

Regional HHS director meets with Kansas health consumer advocates

0 | Jun. 14, 2013 | Advocacy, Health Reform

The regional director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services met with representatives of about 10 Kansas health consumer groups to discuss implementation of the Affordable Care Act. "It will be ready. It will happen," said administrator Stephene Moore of the Oct. 1 launch date for the ACA insurance marketplace.

Mental health grants available

0 | Jun. 18, 2013 | Foundations, Mental Health

The Tower Mental Health Foundation is soliciting grant applications for projects and activities that support mental health services in Kansas.

Kansas City among sites included in national mental health initiative

0 | Jun. 18, 2013 | Mental Health

As part of a high-profile White House initiative, the metropolitan area is among a handful of communities around the country expected to gather hundreds of people for a meeting about mental illness within the next few months.

DCF picks child support enforcement contractors

0 | Jun. 14, 2013 | Children, Agencies

Expanded privatization, according to officials at the Kansas Department for Children and Families, could increase child support collections by $52 million over a three-year period.

Kansas insurance officials hope to give federal insurance exchange a local flavor

2 | Jun. 18, 2013 | Health Reform, Insurance

Kansas is among the states where federal officials will run the new health insurance exchanges but the state’s top insurance regulators said they hope to inject a local flavor. Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger said her agency has been in discussion with the feds about having some of the more complex calls to the exchange’s toll-free helpline roll over to her department so that Kansas consumers come in touch quickly with local people more familiar with the Kansas insurance plans offered in the exchange and the governing regulations.

Obamacare a concern for school districts, particularly rural ones

2 | Jun. 10, 2013 | Community Health, Health Reform, Insurance

School administrators at small, rural districts around the state say they are alarmed and confounded by the looming, new costs they face with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

Administration announces website to encourage exercise

1 | Jun. 07, 2013 | KDHE

The governor and state health officer announced a coming online exercise program designed to encourage Kansans to exercise more, and state workers who do so can earn insurance premium discounts.

Senator plans foster care reform initiative

3 | Jun. 04, 2013 | Children, Agencies, Legislature

A state senator who has adopted four boys out of foster care said he’s putting together a plan for reforming the state’s foster care and adoption programs. “There need to be changes in every single part of the system,” said Sen. Forrest Knox, an Altoona Republican.

State officials submit first quarterly KanCare report to feds

2 | Jun. 07, 2013 | KanCare, Medicaid-CHIP

Kansas officials this week made public their first quarterly report to federal authorities on the progress of KanCare, Gov. Sam Brownback's initiative to move virtually all the state's Medicaid enrollees into privately run managed care plans.

House speaker pleased with KanCare but doesn't want Medicaid expansion

2 | Apr. 01, 2013 | Legislature, Medicaid-CHIP

Prominent politicians born in log cabins weren’t that common even in the old days. Before House Speaker Ray Merrick came along, Kansas hadn’t had one since Charles Curtis, the long-time U.S. senator who went on to become vice president under Herbert Hoover.

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