Related Entries

April 25, 2022 | POLICY & RESEARCH

New Federal Incentive Lowers the Estimated Cost of Medicaid Expansion (April 2022)

Approximately 148,000 Kansans, including 109,000 adults and 39,000 children, are estimated to newly enroll in KanCare if Medicaid were to be expanded in January 2023. Expansion would offer a coverage option to nearly 88,000 adults who currently fall in the “Medicaid coverage gap,” and a new federal incentive has changed the financial equation for states that have not yet expanded Medicaid. This issue brief provides an updated estimate of the impact that expanding Medicaid coverage would have on KanCare enrollment and expenditures.

February 17, 2022 | POLICY & RESEARCH

ICYMI: The Cost of Care: Prescription Drugs in KanCare — Virtual Event (February 17, 2022)

State budgets continue to absorb significant cost increases related to pharmaceuticals, and the Kansas Medicaid program (KanCare) — at 16.7 percent of state general funds — is under the microscope for issues related to drug payments and discount reporting by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). On February 17, 2022, the Kansas Health Institute (KHI) hosted a virtual discussion and provided a brief overview of Medicaid pharmacy pricing, high-cost drugs, rebates and PBMs, along with a discussion of state policy options for controlling cost.

January 10, 2022 | POLICY & RESEARCH

Kansas Medicaid: A Primer 2022 (January 2022)

In state fiscal year 2021, Medicaid and CHIP covered an average of 461,090 people in Kansas per month at a total cost of $4.4 billion for the year. To help you understand the workings of this program, the Kansas Health Institute and the Kansas Legislative Research Department have released Kansas Medicaid: A Primer 2022, an in-depth handbook describing the Kansas Medicaid program.

December 01, 2021 | POLICY & RESEARCH

Annual Insurance Update 2021 (December 2021)

Health insurance coverage in Kansas has improved since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010; however, gains in coverage have stalled in recent years. In several population groups, disparities in insurance coverage that narrowed following implementation of the ACA have reversed and show signs of widening. This Annual Insurance Update 2021 uses the latest available data (from 2019) to provide information about insurance coverage in Kansas and highlights areas where disparities in coverage may be growing. While we recognize the value of this annual publication as a resource, we also realize that COVID-19 has undoubtedly had an impact on insurance coverage since 2019. Therefore, watch our website for upcoming analyses as the U.S. Census Bureau releases the most recent data.

July 27, 2021 | POLICY & RESEARCH

A Kansas Twist — Extended Postpartum Coverage: A New Medicaid Option for States (July 27, 2021)

In response to ongoing concerns about high maternal mortality rates, some states have extended or have requested regulatory authority to extend Medicaid benefits to new mothers for up to a full year after giving birth. Though Kansas is not in the group of states actively seeking to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage, the state's program currently provides extended coverage for all beneficiaries in a continuous eligibility period associated with the federal Public Health Emergency (PHE). This A Kansas Twist blog highlights maternal health outcomes and the options states have for extending postpartum coverage in Medicaid.

April 29, 2021 | POLICY & RESEARCH

Medicaid and CHIP Enrollment Growth During the COVID-19 Pandemic (April 2021)

Enrollment in KanCare has risen since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Data suggest that this increase in enrollment has been driven primarily by the state’s decision, in response to federal incentives, to continue eligibility for KanCare enrollees throughout the pandemic. However, even with the increase in enrollment, this continuing coverage policy has reduced overall state KanCare costs due to an increase in the federal match rate. This issue brief provides an overview of how the COVID-19 pandemic and related policy response has affected enrollment in KanCare and how it may continue to do so in the future.

April 19, 2021 | POLICY & RESEARCH

Medicaid Expansion and Main Street (April 2021)

The potential effects of Medicaid expansion on businesses in Kansas is a relatively under-addressed question. While other studies have looked at the macroeconomic effects of expansion – for example on tax revenues and state economies – no study has examined potential effects on industries and businesses in Kansas as employers. This report estimates that employees switching to Medicaid from employer-sponsored insurance would save private-sector employers in Kansas between $39.6 million and $80.6 million per year. Employers could experience non-financial effects of Medicaid expansion as well, including a healthier workforce. This report was prepared by the Kansas Health Institute for the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas.

February 11, 2021 | POLICY & RESEARCH

Medicaid Expansion Bill Tracker (February 2021)

On February 1, Governor Laura Kelly announced a new proposal to expand eligibility for Medicaid in Kansas as allowed under the Affordable Care Act. The proposal builds on previous legislation to expand the program but creates a new funding mechanism for the state share of expansion: revenues from the legalization of medical marijuana. This new table summarizes the main policy elements of previously proposed legislation to expand Medicaid in Kansas, and how those provisions relate to the new proposal announced by the Governor.

February 10, 2021 | POLICY & RESEARCH

Medicaid Expansion Estimates and the Effects of COVID-19 (February 2021)

With the passage of ballot initiatives in 2020, Missouri and Oklahoma joined Nebraska and Colorado to completely surround Kansas with states that have already expanded or will soon expand Medicaid coverage to low-income adults under the terms of the Affordable Care Act. That changing landscape, combined with a new federal administration and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, is likely to influence debate over Medicaid expansion in Kansas in 2021. This issue brief updates previous Kansas Health Institute estimates of the impact a potential expansion of Medicaid would have on KanCare enrollment and costs.

January 05, 2021 | POLICY & RESEARCH

ICYMI: Legislative Health Policy Orientation (January 5 & 7, 2021)

The Kansas Health Institute offered two virtual orientations to review important health policy topics for legislators as they started the 2021 legislative session. The slides and video recordings of the sessions are available on our website.

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