In a state so strapped for cash, Kansas officials are supposedly turning over every rock in the search for available funds.
And yet right before them sits more than $1 billion in untapped funds.
The source?
The federal government through its support to states that expand their Medicaid programs.
Our problem?
Kansas legislators and a governor who have taken an oath against anything to do with the Affordable Care Act, no matter how much it may benefit their constituents.
For Allen County, we’re talking about the difference of $800,000 in annual reimbursements to our hospital, and even more important, access to health care for our most vulnerable.
When the Affordable Care Act became law in 2010, its premise was to provide every U.S. citizen with health insurance. For those in poverty, as determined by the federal poverty guidelines, they were to receive coverage through their state’s Medicaid program.
Three years ago, that last idea became muddled when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled it was optional for states to provide such assistance for their indigent. In response, the federal government said it would cover those costs. All a state had to do was ask.
So far, Kansas and 17 other states have refused to accept the extra funding.
In Kansas, the problem is exacerbated by the fact that our Medicaid program, KanCare, has a much lower interpretation of what constitutes poverty as opposed to the federal government.
First, let’s start with individuals.
Oops, that’s a dead end. In Kansas, those without children and who do not suffer a disability or are not elderly cannot receive public assistance, no matter their situation or income.
But if Kansas were to expand KanCare, then the federal government would pay for the health insurance of those making up to $16,400.
For families, parents with two children can make no more than $8,019 and qualify for public assistance in our fair state. (Please consider how little that sum actually is.)
