Posted on Sep 17, 2022
More Americans got health insurance during the pandemic, but not in Kansas
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New Census data shows that more Americans have health insurance now than before the pandemic thanks to special federal programs. But not so in Kansas, where insurance rates dropped significantly below the U.S. average for the first time in decades.
WICHITA, Kansas — Federal pandemic programs that buoyed health insurance rates nationwide in 2021 didn’t ultimately lead to an increase in coverage in Kansas — meaning that, for the first time in decades, Kansans are significantly less likely to have health insurance than the U.S. population as a whole.
As millions of Americans lost jobs and with it their employer-based health insurance, the federal government enacted broad relief measures to help people access coverage. Those programs contributed to a marked drop in the rate of uninsured Americans in 2021 to match a prior record low of 8.6%, according to new data released this week by the Census Bureau.
WICHITA, Kansas — Federal pandemic programs that buoyed health insurance rates nationwide in 2021 didn’t ultimately lead to an increase in coverage in Kansas — meaning that, for the first time in decades, Kansans are significantly less likely to have health insurance than the U.S. population as a whole.
As millions of Americans lost jobs and with it their employer-based health insurance, the federal government enacted broad relief measures to help people access coverage. Those programs contributed to a marked drop in the rate of uninsured Americans in 2021 to match a prior record low of 8.6%, according to new data released this week by the Census Bureau.
More Americans got health insurance during the pandemic, but not in Kansas
Posted from kcur.org
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Some will have access to Marketplace subsidies and other insurance options. But an estimated 383,000 people living in Kansas and the other 11 states that have not expanded Medicaid won’t have another affordable option for coverage. That’s because they fall into the coverage gap that exists in nonexpansion states: they make too much money to qualify for Medicaid but not enough money to qualify for Marketplace tax credits that would make buying their own insurance affordable.
“A good chunk of the number [of Kansans] who have remained enrolled will probably fall into that gap,” Steiner said.
Lukens said the process of ending the COVID-19 coverage provisions, referred to as the “unwinding,” could leave even fewer Kansans insured than before the pandemic.
“It's really important that states take steps now to prevent things like administrative errors from keeping people who are still eligible from being disenrolled, as well as to help people who lose their Medicaid coverage to transition to other coverage,” he said.
Medicaid expansion has been a contentious issue in the Kansas Statehouse. Democrats support it, but the Republican leaders of both chambers have opposed the idea.
“There's still the opportunity for Kansas to expand [Medicaid] to more than offset any decline in coverage that could occur during the unwinding,” Lukens said."
..."Some will have access to Marketplace subsidies and other insurance options. But an estimated 383,000 people living in Kansas and the other 11 states that have not expanded Medicaid won’t have another affordable option for coverage. That’s because they fall into the coverage gap that exists in nonexpansion states: they make too much money to qualify for Medicaid but not enough money to qualify for Marketplace tax credits that would make buying their own insurance affordable.
“A good chunk of the number [of Kansans] who have remained enrolled will probably fall into that gap,” Steiner said.
Lukens said the process of ending the COVID-19 coverage provisions, referred to as the “unwinding,” could leave even fewer Kansans insured than before the pandemic.
“It's really important that states take steps now to prevent things like administrative errors from keeping people who are still eligible from being disenrolled, as well as to help people who lose their Medicaid coverage to transition to other coverage,” he said.
Medicaid expansion has been a contentious issue in the Kansas Statehouse. Democrats support it, but the Republican leaders of both chambers have opposed the idea.
“There's still the opportunity for Kansas to expand [Medicaid] to more than offset any decline in coverage that could occur during the unwinding,” Lukens said."
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