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Update: What We’re Watching, June 18, 2025
Hill to the Heartland: Federal Health Policy Briefing
11 Min Read
Jun 18, 2025
By
Valentina Blanchard, M.P.H., M.S.W.,Alexa Heseltine,
Sheena L. Schmidt, M.P.P.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has paused its request for states to share Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipient data amid a legal challenge. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that 10.9 million people could lose health insurance under the current version of the federal budget bill. Kansas continues to manage a growing measles outbreak. Here is some of the news we are watching that could have an impact on Kansas.
The views expressed in the following news stories, news releases or documents are not necessarily those of the Kansas Health Institute (KHI). They are being shared with the intent of keeping Kansans informed of the latest developments related to federal health policy.
1. Measles and Vaccination Rates in Kansas
As of June 18, Kansas has reported 79 measles cases across 11 south-central and southwest counties, with three hospitalizations. More than 8 in 10 (86.8 percent) of the outbreak-related cases in southwest counties were in unvaccinated individuals and 62 cases were in children under the age of 18. A Johns Hopkins University study highlights a broader trend: routine childhood vaccination rates have declined in nearly 80 percent of U.S. counties since the COVID-19 pandemic. In Kansas, rates dropped significantly in outbreak areas; Gray County fell from 94 percent to 71 percent and Haskell County from 83 percent to 65 percent. Health officials emphasize that 98-percent community coverage is needed to prevent outbreaks. In a related national vaccine policy development, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released all 17 members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccine advisory committee and made new appointments, stating that a new panel will convene in two weeks to “re-establish public confidence in vaccine science.”
🔗 Read more from the Kansas Reflector: Kansas measles cases at 71 with three hospitalizations
🔗 Read more from the Hutch Post: Measles vaccination rates drop after COVID-19 pandemic in Kansas
🔗 View the measles dashboard from KDHE: Measles Data
🔗 Read more from NPR: RFK Jr. names new slate of vaccine advisers after purging CDC panel
2. USDA Pauses SNAP Data Requests
The United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) has paused its request for states to turn over personal data of those who either received or applied for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits following the filing of a lawsuit alleging the agency violated federal privacy laws. Kansas officials at the Department for Children and Families (DCF) had declined to release the data, citing a lack of clarity around the request. The USDA stated in court that it has not collected any data and will wait until proper legal steps, including publishing a new System of Records Notice, are completed.
🔗 Read more from the Kansas Reflector: USDA pauses request for personal data of SNAP recipients while lawsuit proceeds
🔗 Read more from NPR: USDA says demand for sensitive food stamp data from states is on hold
Medicaid Updates
3. Medicaid Projections for Kansas
In Kansas, modeling by Manatt Health projected that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) could reduce Medicaid funding by approximately $3.77 billion over the next 10 years, comprised of $2.29 billion in federal funds and $1.48 billion in state funds. Manatt’s analysis estimated 13,000 Kansans could lose access to Medicaid coverage. The report noted that additional impacts, such as restrictions on provider taxes and changes to State Directed Payments, which help support hospital reimbursement rates in Kansas, could not be fully modeled due to data limitations. Analysts cautioned that, with 63 rural hospitals currently at risk of closure (26 at immediate risk), funding cuts could increase uncompensated care burdens and further strain rural health care infrastructure.
🔗 Read the brief from Manatt Health: Medicaid Cuts & Kansas
🔗 Read more from NPR: Federal Medicaid cuts would cost 13,000 Kansans their health care coverage
4. Maternal Health Coverage in Kansas
Maternal health advocates in Kansas have expressed concerns regarding access to services during pregnancy if proposed cuts to Medicaid are enacted. Medicaid finances more than 40 percent of births in Kansas. Pregnant women in Kansas are currently eligible for Medicaid if they make no more than 171 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL; $54,976 for a family of four). They remain eligible for Medicaid 12 months postpartum.
🔗 Read more from the Kansas Reflector: Kansas advocate warns federal cuts to Medicaid will accelerate maternal deaths
HHS Updates
5. Projected Health Coverage and Funding Impacts of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
On June 4, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a nonpartisan federal agency that provides Congress with independent analyses of budgetary and economic issues, estimated that the current version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) could increase the number of people without health insurance by 10.9 million by 2034. This includes 7.8 million from changes to Medicaid, 1.3 million from reforms to health insurance marketplaces and 2.3 million from other insurance-related provisions. CBO also estimated an additional 5.1 million individuals could lose coverage due to the scheduled expiration of the expanded premium tax credit at the end of 2025 and a proposed rule from the Department of Health and Human Services affecting marketplace policies. In Kansas, KFF estimates that approximately 75,000 people could become uninsured under the proposals in the OBBBA and proposed marketplace changes. The Senate is expected to take up the bill in the coming weeks with the goal of advancing the OBBBA through Congress by July 4, though lawmakers have until September to pass a budget.
🔗 Read the Congressional Budget Office estimates: Estimated Effects on the Number of Uninsured People in 2034 Resulting From Policies Incorporated Within CBO’s Baseline Projections and H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
🔗 Read more from KFF: How Will the 2025 Reconciliation Bill Affect the Uninsured Rate in Each State? Allocating CBO’s Estimates of Coverage Loss
🔗 Read more from AP News: CBO: Trump bill will add $2.4T to deficit, leave 10.9M more uninsured
6. Funding for Advocacy Related to Disability Services in Kansas at Risk
Advocates report that the proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services included cuts to the protection and advocacy system, which provides funding for organizations in Kansas to assist with services that protect the rights of Kansans with disabilities (e.g., free legal services, investigation of abuse and neglect, education and outreach, etc.). The network includes The Disability Rights Center of Kansas, the Kansas Council for Disability Rights and the Kansas University Center on Disabilities.
🔗 Read more from the Kansas Reflector: Proposed federal budget cuts could have ‘grim impact’ on Kansans with disabilities
7. The HALT Act passed by Congress
On June 12, The United States House of Representatives passed the Halt All Lethal Trafficking (HALT) of Fentanyl Act. It was previously passed by the Senate in March and is now awaiting the President’s signature. This legislation is intended to address the nation’s opioid epidemic by permanently placing fentanyl-related substances into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule I controlled substances are those that have high potential for abuse, are not accepted to have medical value, and are subject to regulatory standards and criminal penalties. HALT established new registration requirements for conducting controlled substance research. Additionally, HALT states that fentanyl-related substances offenses are subject to the same penalties as fentanyl analogs. All members of the Kansas congressional delegation voted to support the legislation, and Senator Roger Marshall is a cosponsor of the Senate bill.
In Kansas, there were 497 opioid-related deaths in 2022, a 16.1 percent increase from 2021. Douglas County is working to address opioid overdoses by increasing public access to naloxone, which is a medication used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported that eastern Kansas has seen a spike in opioid-related deaths in 2025, identifying 33 between March and May.
🔗 Read more from the Kansas Reflector: Douglas County health officials working to make resources accessible after surge in opioid overdoses
🔗 Read the bill: HALT Act
🔗 View the overdose dashboard from KDHE: Overdose –Data –Dashboard
🔗 Read more from AP News: House passes bill to to combat fentanyl trafficking, sending it to Trump’s desk
News From the Kansas Delegation
Members of the Kansas congressional delegation have been active the past month on a range of health care and related policy matters.
1. On June 4, the U.S. House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation that includes provisions from the Comprehensive Addiction Recovery through Effective Employment and Reentry (CAREER) Act, originally co-introduced in 2023 by Representative Sharice Davids (KS-03) and Representative Andy Barr (KY). The CAREER Act was incorporated into the broader SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act of 2025 and aims to support individuals recovering from substance use disorder by increasing funding for workforce recovery grants and expanding their use to cover transportation for job training and recovery services. The legislation now moves to the Senate for consideration.
🔗 Read the 2023 CAREER Act: H.R. 4088
🔗 Read the 2025 SUPPORT Act: H.R. 2483
🔗 Read the press release from Representative Davids’ office: U.S. House Passes Davids’ Bipartisan Bill to Help People in Recovery Rejoin the Workforce
2. Representative Davids (KS-03) reintroduced the Pride in Mental Health Act on June 5 — a bill she originally introduced in 2023 which would establish a federal grant program to support mental health and crisis services for LGBTQ+ youth and their families, including school-based care, data collection and cultural competency training.
🔗 Read the bill : H.R. 3757
🔗 Read the press release from Representative Davids’ office: During Pride Month, Davids Introduces Bill Supporting LGBTQI+ Youth Mental Health
3. Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall joined colleagues in introducing the More Opportunities for Moms to Succeed (MOMS) Act on May 6. The bill seeks to expand support for pregnant and parenting women by creating a centralized federal website listing available resources, funding programs to improve access to prenatal and postnatal care, and reauthorizing grants for organizations that promote carrying pregnancies to term. Additionally, the bill includes a provision allowing child support enforcement to begin during pregnancy, similar to a bill passed by the Kansas Legislature that would require child support orders for unborn children.
🔗 Read the federal bill: S. 1630
🔗 Read the state bill: H.B. 2062
🔗 Read the press release from Senator Moran’s office: Sen. Moran Joins Colleagues in Introducing MOMS Act to Help Strengthen Families
🔗 Read the press release from Senator Marshall’s office: Senator Marshall Joins Senator Britt in Introducing MOMS Act to Support Women, Strengthen Families
4. Senator Roger Marshall and Senator Mark Warner (VA) reintroduced, along with 50 co-sponsors including Senator Moran, the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025 on May 20. The bill would reform prior authorization processes under Medicare Advantage by requiring electronic systems, increased transparency and timely response standards. The bill seeks to streamline approvals, protect enrollees, limit delays in care and ensure oversight through reporting requirements and stakeholder input.
🔗 Read the bill: S. 1816
🔗 Read the press release from Senator Marshall’s office: Senators Marshall and Warner Reintroduce Bill to Improve Seniors’ Access to Care
5. Another bill co-sponsored by Sen. Moran, the DeOndra Dixon INCLUDE Project Act of 2025, was introduced on May 21 and would expand Down syndrome research through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by authorizing a dedicated program focused on studying co-occurring conditions, improving diagnosis and treatment, and enhancing quality of life. It seeks to increase inclusive clinical trials, support high-risk research and coordinate efforts across NIH institutes.
🔗 Read the bill: S. 1838
🔗 Read the press release from Senator Moran’s office: Sen. Moran Joins Colleagues in Introducing Legislation to Increase Funding for Down Syndrome Research
6. Senator Roger Marshall’s Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, whose related House bill is co-sponsored by over 100 colleagues including Rep. Davids (KS-03), Rep. Ron Estes (KS-04), and Rep. Tracey Mann (KS-01), advanced out of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry on June 3. The bill, originally introduced in 2023, was reintroduced this year and would amend the National School Lunch Act to allow schools participating in the federal lunch program to serve flavored and unflavored whole milk, including organic and lactose-free options. The bill also exempts milk fat from saturated fat limits in meal standards and prohibits the purchase of milk from Chinese state-owned enterprises. The bill is set to go to the Senate floor for a vote before moving to the House.
🔗 Read the Senate bill: S. 222
🔗 Read more from the Hays Post: Kan. U.S. Senator’s ‘Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act’ Advances
Stay tuned for further updates on policy shifts that may affect health programs and services in Kansas. For related work on how federal policies could impact Kansans, please check out Hill to the Heartland.
Funding for Hill to the Heartland is provided in part by the Sunflower Foundation: Health Care for Kansans, a Topeka-based philanthropic organization with the mission to serve as a catalyst for improving the health of Kansans. KHI retains editorial independence in the production of its content and its findings. Any views expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sunflower Foundation.
About Kansas Health Institute
The Kansas Health Institute supports effective policymaking through nonpartisan research, education and engagement. KHI believes evidence-based information, objective analysis and civil dialogue enable policy leaders to be champions for a healthier Kansas. Established in 1995 with a multiyear grant from the Kansas Health Foundation, KHI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization based in Topeka.