Medicaid Resources
Medicaid is a public health insurance plan that serves and protects the most vulnerable people in our society, including children and adults with low incomes, pregnant people, seniors and people with disabilities. It allows them to get the health care they need to get and stay healthy.
Medicaid is paid for by a combination of federal and state funds. However, it is administered and operated by individual states. Because they can work within broad federal guidelines, each state’s program varies in coverage. Kansas’ Medicaid program is called KanCare.
Medicaid serves as the backbone of our health care system in many aspects, covering 40-50% of children and births, paying for the majority of nursing home residents, covering people with disabilities and workers who cannot receive insurance through their employer or afford a private plan.
It currently covers more people than Medicare or Social Security.
Medicaid benefits everyone. The more people who are covered by health insurance, the less uncompensated care for the health system. That keeps everyone else’s costs down and helps financially unstable hospitals keep their doors open, which is especially important in rural communities. It keeps people healthier, which again keeps costs down for everyone else and reduces over-crowded ERs.
It also allows seniors to receive long-term care, which alleviates the financial burden on their families and lets them live out their final years the best as they can.
It provides coverage for expecting mothers and helps give their babies the healthiest start to life.
Below are resources to learn more about Medicaid and the important role it plays in providing access to health care.
GENERAL RESOURCES
KanCare:
- 2025 independent report: How federal cuts to Medicaid could impact Kansas
- KanCare website
- History of KanCare
- Eligibility requirements
Medicaid’s role in small towns and rural communities:
- CCF 2025 report on Medicaid’s role in rural communities
- Kansas data about Medicaid/CHIP coverage in metro and small town/rural area counties
- Presentation and webinar about Medicaid’s impact on rural areas
Non-partisan Medicaid research and reports:
- Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy Center for Children and Families
- KFF Health News
PROPOSED MEDICAID CUTS
U.S. Congress is currently considering billions in cuts to Medicaid as part of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” The Health Fund has partnered with REACH Healthcare Foundation to fund an analysis of the bill to see how such cuts would impact Kansans hospitals and residents. Manatt Health has conducted modeling with each version of the bill to show impacts to funding and enrollment. Learn more about the modeling results below.
- Final approved bill
- Senate version of the bill
- House version of the bill
- Initial analysis pre-bill of discussed funding changes
MEDICAID EXPANSION
The Health Fund is a strong advocate of expanding Medicaid. This would provide health care access to thousands more Kansans and help reduce the number of uninsured residents. We regularly provide testimony and serve as an expert in news stories discussing the importance of this action.
Learn about Medicaid expansion here: https://www.expandkancare.com/
MEDICAID IMPROVEMENTS
In addition to advocating for Medicaid expansion in Kansas, we also advocate for improvements to KanCare to improve our health care system and the health of Kansans. Below are some areas for which we have successfully advocated.
- Recognition and reimbursement for doula care
- Increased reimbursement rates and coverage options for lactation services
- Recognition and increased reimbursement rates for community health workers (CHWs)
SOCIAL TOOLS
Want to educate your audience about Medicaid? Please use and share any of these resources below from our #MedicaidMatters campaign that highlight how Medicaid helps Kansans.
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