Fact Sheet – Health Insurance Coverage in Kansas

Current Coverage

• • In 2010–2011, 13.1 percent of Kansans were uninsured. This is not significantly different from the 12.8 percent who were uninsured in 2009–2010.
  • The percentage of Kansans without health insurance in 2010–2011 — 13.1 percent — is significantly lower than the national rate of 16.0 percent.
  • The percentage of uninsured adult Kansans (age 26–64) increased significantly from 14.4 percent in 2008–2009 to 17.1 percent in 2010–2011. At the same time, employment-based insurance for adult Kansans age 26–64 decreased significantly from 71.0 percent in 2008–2009 to 67.3 percent in 2010–2011.

Other notable findings that aren’t statistically significant:

• • The percentage of Kansas children (under age 19) without health insurance in 2010–2011 was 8.8 percent, compared with 7.7 percent in 2009–2010 and 9.2 percent in 2008–2009.
  • The percentage of uninsured young adult Kansans (age 19–25) in 2010– 2011 was 1 percent, compared with 22.9 percent in 2009–2010 and
  • There was no statistically significant change in the rate of uninsured young adult Kansans (age 19–25) despite a provision in the federal health reform law that took effect in 2010. That provision allows dependents to stay on their parents’ or guardians’ health insurance plans until age 26.
  • Approximately 365,500 Kansans lacked health insurance in 2010–2011. That compares with about 351,000 Kansans in 2009–2010 and about 337,000 Kansans in 2008–2009.
  • The percentage of Hispanics in Kansas without health insurance was 28.6 percent in 2010–2011, compared with 29.5 percent in 2009–2010 and 34.3 percent in 2008–2009.

Recent Trends

• • Obtaining health insurance through an employer continues to become less common in the United States and Kansas. In 2010–2011, 56.9 percent of all Kansans were covered by employment-based insurance, compared with 65.1 percent in 2000–2001.
  • Obtaining health insurance through an individually purchased policy also continues to become less common in Kansas. In 2010–2011, 12.8 percent of all Kansans were covered by individually purchased insurance, compared with 15.0 percent in 2000–2001.
  • At the same time that employment-based insurance is becoming less common, coverage from publicly funded sources continues to increase. In 2010–2011, 32.1percent of all Kansans were covered by some type of public health insurance, compared with 27.2percent in 2000–2001. Public health insurance includes Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and military coverage.
  • Without this substitution of public health insurance for employment-based insurance, the rate of uninsured Kansans, particularly children, likely would have increased even more during the last decade. The percentage of uninsured Kansans has increased from 9.7 percent in 2000–2001 to 13.1 percent in 2010–2011.