The death knell sounded Thursday for Kansas’ poor and disabled. Not only is it highly unlikely Kansas will expand Medicaid, but current services also are on the chopping block if Gov. Sam Brownback gets his way. IT’S unconscionable that our governor is willing to target programs that help our most needy in order to provide tax breaks for our most well-to-do.
In his half-hearted effort to address a $400 million budget deficit, Brownback suggested cuts of $33 million to KanCare, the state’s Medicaid program.
Please remember, our Medicaid program is one of the most parsimonious in nation. A family of four can make no more than $8,000 a year to receive aid. Once above that threshold, that family is deemed self-sufficient in Kansas, despite the fact they are living well below the federal poverty level.
And if a family member falls ill? That’s when they are really punished, for they are considered too “rich” to qualify for KanCare, but too poor to qualify for coverage under the Affordable Care Act, which kicks in at the federal poverty level, which, for that family of four is $25,550 — more than three times the state’s cap.
Kansas has about 159,000 citizens caught in this purgatory.
It’s also why our hospitals are crying “uncle.”
By law, they must treat the uninsured despite the fact their reimbursements have been reduced. To pile on the hurt, Brownback also suggested Thursday that hospitals pay an additional $19 million into a fund that yields matching federal Medicaid funds.
These two decisions will undoubtedly serve as the final nails in the coffins for, particularly, small, rural hospitals whose demographics are disproportionately poor.
— Susan Lynn
Brownback wants to fund budget on the backs of the poor
