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At the Health Fund, we support programs and measures that help to end the gap in access for Kansans and are excited to support Governor Kelly’s Kansas Digital Equity Plan which seeks to boost broadband access throughout Kansas. Recently, we offered supportive public comments to the Kansas Office of Broadband Development. To read our comments in full, visit here.

Dependable, high-speed internet is essential today for everyday life – including for work, school, and health care. However, nearly 30% of all Kansans lack adequate internet access and up to 1 million Kansans live in regions that lack access to high-speed broadband services at adequate speeds. This digital divide in terms of devices, digital literacy, and access to high-speed internet particularly impacts rural and low-income communities and communities of color. 

Digital equity is more than a quality-of-life issue. It plays a significant role not only in the ability to access health care, but in the overall health of individuals and communities. An FCC task force is studying whether broadband connectivity should be considered a social determinant of health. Social determinants are the conditions where people live, learn, work, and play that account for as much as 80% of a person’s health status. Access to high speed internet and digital equity is a super determinant of health because of the impact it has on health care outcomes and its close connection with other determinants of health like education, employment, housing, and transportation.

Making digital inclusion and adequate broadband high speed internet access a reality for all Kansans means building upon our strengths and addressing our challenges with solid solutions supported by our communities and our leadership. This includes:

• Ensuring the development of digital infrastructure that serves all Kansans and eliminates redlining of communities.
• Creating access to programs that makes the internet affordable for all Kansas families.
• Supporting consumer assistance, navigators and community health workers that help families access programs, address technical concerns and build digital literacy.

Two areas that we identify as vitally important elements are the ability to access telehealth in achieving successful health care outcomes and the impact Community Health Workers (CHWs) and navigators can have for their patients.

Telehealth

Meeting the healthcare needs of rural Kansas involves readily available and reliable access to telehealth. Addressing smart and efficient development of broadband access is vital to successful telehealth implementation. This includes all three key areas: digital infrastructure, affordability and engaging community health workers and navigators.

In 2022, the Health Fund and REACH Healthcare Foundation partnered for a closer look at provider and patient experiences with telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Valuable information applicable beyond the pandemic was gathered as well. Namely, the favorability of this option for patients able to access it – with 86% of those surveyed in favor of supporting expansion of telehealth options.

Telehealth may be utilized for a follow-up appointment in conjunction with in-patient visits, medication consultations, mental health check-ups and regular check-ups. Having access to telehealth services through appropriate broadband services allows patients to stay with the same provider and experience expanded access to mental health services.

Community Health Workers and Navigators

CHWs and navigators are a key ingredient to broadband access. Community health workers are trusted members of the communities they serve and are leveraged to assist others in accessing services, applying for programs and utilizing access options. In addition, broadband access also enables CHWs to meet with their patients when appropriate. CHWs are often in the same communities and experiencing the same broadband challenges, which may impact their ability to obtain training. Supporting this element of internet access is just as important as maintaining infrastructure.

Access to high-speed internet means a better connected, better served, healthier Kansas. To effectively address the many dynamics, it takes to bring usable and accessible broadband to all Kansans – including building broadband infrastructure and supporting affordable reliable connections through appropriate devices – requires thoughtful policies and programs such as the KOBD and Governor Kelly are proposing. The policy measures and program initiatives needed to reach this goal should continue to be celebrated priorities that are delivered upon.

To read more about broadband access in Kansas, read our blog, Digital Inclusion is Vital to a Health Kansas.

Join us at a regional rally featuring Kansas health resources and conversations on the future of health care in our communities. Each rally will include:

• Round-table discussions on the changing healthcare landscape and what Medicaid expansion can or would mean to rural areas and your community
• Resources and programs available to Kansans now, and where to find help
• Opportunities to enroll in services and programs (local navigators will be present to assist)
• Ways you can take action to improve the health of your community
• Lunch or dinner

A strong health system is critical to the future of rural Kansas communities. As Kansas and health care changes, and more Kansans become uninsured, our health systems and communities face increasing challenges.

Thrive Kansas and the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund invite you to a conversation on the future of rural health, Medicaid expansion, and for a resource rally to better connect rural Kansans to available services.

At the meeting, we’ll discuss the changing landscape of health care in Kansas, the importance of Medicaid expansion to rural communities and, most importantly, share resources and programs available to Kansans now. We will also provide an opportunity to enroll in programs and to take action to improve the health of your community. Please use the form below to register. Lunch or dinner will be provided.

Atchison – Nov. 30
Hays, Colby – Dec. 4
Dodge City – Dec. 5
Pittsburg (register below) – December 13th from noon to 2 p.m. at the CHC/SEK John Parolo Education Center, 3015 N. Michigan

The registration form is now closed – thank you for your interest. Please contact David Jordan david@healthfund.org for waiting list or future events.

Access to high-speed internet isn’t a luxury. It is a necessity. Being connected impacts personal and community health, economic opportunity and well-being. It is a means to providing enhanced personal and societal well-being and accessing good jobs that rely on digital tools. Online connectivity is critical to Kansans ability to access human services such as health care, economic and personal development opportunities, skills development, and education.

As our world continues to rely on internet access to be a full participant, it is vital that digital access is available for all, especially our most vulnerable Kansans – communities of color and rural communities. 

According to the UN, “Digital inclusion is defined as “equitable, meaningful, and safe access to use, lead, and design of digital technologies, services, and associated opportunities for everyone, everywhere”.

Making digital inclusion a reality in Kansas means as a state we need to build upon our strengths and address our challenges with solid solutions supported by our communities and our leadership. This includes:

• Having a digital infrastructure that serves all Kansans and eliminates redlining of communities.
• Having access to programs that makes the internet affordable for all Kansas families.
• Supporting consumer assistance, navigators and community health workers that help families access programs, address technical concerns and build digital literacy.

According to the Kansas Health Institute, nearly 30% of all Kansans do not have adequate internet access. This includes those that do not have high-speed internet in their area and those that do not have access to a proper device.

The goal of digital inclusion means looking at a variety of barriers including internet access, computer devices and digital literacy. Although a major barrier especially in our state of Kansas, digital exclusion is more than the structural barriers of connectivity.

But we have great news. The State of Kansas and our Governor, Laura Kelly, have made huge strides in correcting this digital divide. The Kansas Office of Broadband Development has several programs designed to find solutions across the state.

The Kansas Office of Broadband Development is currently undertaking an exciting five-year program to spread high speed internet access across the state through the Broadband Equity Access and Development (BEAD) program and the Digital Equity Act. This program is a federally funded program offering historic amounts of funding to address the digital divide.

The Capital Project Fund (CPF) is providing funding to make broadband connections in critical areas of the state that lack access to high-speed internet. The $83.5 million total CPF investment, combined with almost $42 million in matching funds, will result in more than 24,500 homes, businesses, schools, health care facilities, and other public institutions being connected to fast, reliable internet for the first time.

Grant programs like the Connectivity Emergency Response Grant (CERG) program and the Broadband Partnership Adoption Grant (BPAG) program were created to drive immediate access and long-term impact. Kansas is taking decisive and impactful action towards digital inclusion across the state.

The Health Fund continues to support statewide measures to address digital inclusion because finding solutions to this issue means improving social determinants of health. As a health foundation, we work to ensure families can access telehealth services through reliable means when and where they need it. At the United Methodist Health Fund, we will continue to be an active supporter in fighting for digital equity in Kansas.

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The following presentation was delivered by David Jordan on October 5, 2023, as testimony to the FCC regarding broadband access in Kansas.

Child care providers in Kansas are struggling to keep their doors open while parents struggle to find affordable, safe, high-quality care, which is why it is important that the Legislature is examining this problem this fall.

The Special Committee on Child Care Centers and Child Care Homes is holding their first meeting next Tuesday, September 26, at the Statehouse in Topeka. In addition to hearing from state agencies about the status of child care in Kansas, the committee is also looking for input from child care providers and advocates.

Access to high-quality child care is necessary for Kansas children and our economy to be able to thrive. It is critically important for working parents of young children to be able to find quality affordable child care because it aids healthy child development and allows them to return to the workforce.

As a statewide health philanthropy, we are excited by the opportunity to partner with the state to support innovative policy solutions to make quality, affordable child care a reality in every Kansas community. A key component of our work is supporting all Kansans to ensure they have the opportunity to thrive. As a foundation that supports all Kansas kids having the opportunity to benefit from the high-quality early learning experiences needed to support healthy brain development, we appreciate the Commitee’s willingness to address the lack of quality, affordable child care in Kansas.

You can read our full testimony submitted for consideration here.

On September 20th, Governor Kelly announced at a live press conference in Winfield that expanding KanCare will be her number one priority for the upcoming legislative session, and that she will be embarking on a statewide tour called “Healthy Workers, Healthy Economy.”

At the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, expanding Medicaid remains a top priority of ours because we recognize that expanding Medicaid is critical to lowering health care costs in Kansas and reducing medical debt, protecting rural hospitals in danger of closing and growing our workforce to ensure our communities can continue to thrive.

Expanding Medicaid is not a partisan issue – nearly 80% of Kansans support Medicaid expansion – it is a commonsense policy solution that will benefit all Kansans and improve the state’s finances.

With a growing number of uninsured Kansans (higher than the national average for the second straight year), more financially vulnerable hospitals in Kansas than in any other state, and a growing number of health care workers being recruited to neighboring states that expanded Medicaid, we cannot afford to wait any longer to expand Medicaid.

We are excited to join the Governor and the overwhelming majority of Kansans in supporting Medicaid. To take action to expand Medicaid, we encourage to you to engage with our partners at the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas.

Later this year, we will be hosting a faith and Medicaid expansion event. Let us know if you are interested in a future event by filling out this form. We hope you’ll join us in supporting this effort that will benefit all Kansans.

Sincerely,
David Jordan

August is National Breastfeeding month, which gives us an opportunity to celebrate the work being done in our state and through the great partnerships we have with so many organizations.

For over a decade, we have supported breastfeeding initiatives because breastfeeding means healthier moms and babies. Doing all that we can to support efforts that increase education and access is a win for us all.

Change takes time and it takes partnership.  Over the last 13 years, we’ve invested in building this partnership to achieve change. Whether it’s the 38 hospitals throughout Kansas participating in the High 5 for Mom & Baby program or local breastfeeding coalitions, local WIC programs, breastfeeding consultants and educators, or CHWs and doulas, we celebrate the collaboration towards our shared goal, healthy families in Kansas. We want to take this time to applaud the efforts of our many local partners that provide support, advocacy and education to help ALL families have better health.

The ‘why’ for all of us is the same, healthy families in Kansas means a better Kansas for us all. We know that breastfeeding has a huge impact on the health of a newborn, the birth giver and these benefits can continue well into the future for both.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) recommend that breastfeeding be initiated within the first hour after birth, continued exclusively for the first 6 months of life and continued, with safe and adequate complementary foods, up to 2 years or beyond. When these goals are met, the risk of infant mortality decreases significantly, babies receive the nutrients and energy needed for physical and neurological growth and development, and imparts enormous health benefits to mom.

The Health Fund supports breastfeeding as it is part of our mission to ensure that all Kansas children have the healthy starts necessary to thrive. We specifically support efforts to close the breastfeeding gap for communities of color as Black and Brown babies and mothers in Kansas are up to three times more likely to die in pregnancy, childbirth, or infancy.

We continue to support this work because we know these efforts are working. According to the CDC Kansas 2022 State Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care (mPINC) report, Kansas has made improvements.

• Kansas moved up to 9th in the national ranking, from 13th in 2020, 22nd in 2018, and 36th in 2015.
• Kansas continues to exceed the national score with a score of 82/100 compared to the national score of 81.
• Kansas has the 8th highest response rate in the Nation – 82% of Kansas hospitals responded to the survey compared to the national average of 72%.

These improvements and certainly the work ahead are because of good policies from our state leaders, agency strategies and outreach, the advocates working directly with families, and well-informed communities that support each other. We hope to continue to be an active part of all of these by boosting the efforts of others, collaborating where we can, and offering strategic support when we can.

To learn more about our amazing partners, read and follow the links below.

Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition – Works collaboratively to achieve a vision where breastfeeding/human milk feeding is normal and supported throughout Kansas. https://ksbreastfeeding.org

Kansas Perinatal Quality Collaborative – Healthy pregnancies & a healthy start to life for babies are fundamental aspects of public health. KPQC combines the expertise of clinical teams and public health leaders, evidence-based practices and quality improvement processes to improve health outcomes for mothers and babies and make Kansas the best place to give birth, be born, and raise a family. https://kansaspqc.org

Kansas Birth Justice Society – Today, Black and Brown babies and mothers in KS are up to three times more likely to die in pregnancy, childbirth, or infancy. KBJS provides community-driven programs and services to Black, Latinx, and Native American families to improve survival and long-term health for birth givers and infants.  https://ksbirthjustice.org  

High 5 for Mom & Baby – This program includes 38 KS hospitals in Kansas which promote 10 evidence-based practices supporting mothers and infants in meeting their breastfeeding goals for optimal health. https://high5kansas.org

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The state’s KanCare program provides health coverage to approximately 400,000 Kansans, including children, low-income parents, and Kansans with disabilities. Ensuring Kansans – especially our most vulnerable – have access to health care means a better Kansas for everyone.

Due to COVID-19, KanCare had been operating under special rules, including suspension of the prior annual renewal process, during the public health emergency declaration. Upon this expiration, Kansas resumed the practice of annual renewals as of Spring this year.  However, challenges including potentially outdated address information and the sudden increase in renewal volume are already leading to confusion and unnecessary coverage disenrollments.    

The success of this process, and ensuring Kansans don’t unnecessarily lose coverage, is dependent on clear communication between KanCare and its enrollees. Fortunately, there are steps we can take to avoid coverage loss. This includes working with partner organizations to spread the word and doing all we can to help enrollees understand and navigate the process.

In order to provide the best information possible to our partners we, along with Community Care Network of Kansas, are hosting a series of webinars covering the process of these renewals and how best to navigate it.

Medicaid Renewals for Faith-based Communities – August 15^th 2023

This webinar will cover an overview of the challenges we are facing in Kansas and how faith communities can make an impact. We will also offer additional resources specifically for faith communities.

This form is closed, as the event has concluded. Thank you for your interest.

Previous Webinars:

“Medicaid Renewals 101” – Recorded July 12^th 2023

This installment covers the nuts and bolts of the renewal process and present resources you can use to best serve your communities and clients.

“On the Ground” – Recorded July 26^th 2023

During this presentation we heard from community leaders on how they are succeeding and meeting the challenges.

Everyone is welcome to join this educational exploration of this critically important topic. To register, fill out the information below.

If you are unable to attend, don’t worry! We will post the presentations on our website following their scheduled dates. For questions, contact Jennifer at jennifer@healthfund.org

For further information and resources, visit our resource page.

In the Spring of 2023, Kansas resumed the Medicaid renewal process for the first time in three years. To prevent unnecessary coverage disenrollments, we are working with our partner organizations to spread the word and doing what we can to help enrollees navigate the process. Below is background on the process and resources available to partners.

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Background

The state’s KanCare program provides health coverage to approximately 400,000 Kansans, including children, low-income parents, and Kansans with disabilities. Ensuring Kansans have access to health care, especially our most vulnerable means a better Kansas for everyone.

Due to COVID-19, KanCare has been operating under special rules under a public health emergency declaration. As this has expired, Medicaid is returning to the practice of annual renewals. The success of this process is dependent on clear communication between KanCare and its enrollees.

During the public health emergency, KanCare also allowed for broader qualifications to receive coverage. As renewals come up for enrollees, eligibility will also be considered under the current regulations. This means it is even more important to ensure correct contact information with KanCare. With this in mind, we want to offer resources that can facilitate outgoing communications for our partners. 

KanCare will use the information they have on file to decide if Medicaid family member(s) still qualify for Medicaid or CHIP coverage. If KanCare needs more information to make a coverage decision, they will send renewal letters in the mail based on the customer information they have. Enrollees are highly encouraged to keep a close eye on their mailbox, especially during their renewal month which is the same month in which coverage began.

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Resources

Resources and tools are available both for service providers and enrollees. We are always happy to answer any questions you may have and direct you to the best information source available. Below are a few helpful links.

Community Care of Network of Kansas offers a thorough toolbox for you and your organization to help spread the word.

Healthy Schools Campaign (HSC), a national nonprofit organization, works to ensure that schools can provide students with healthy environments, nutritious food, health services and opportunities for physical activity.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is dedicated to the health of all children and the pediatric professionals who care for them.

Kansas Department of Health and Environment and KanCare offer a toolbox available to the public. It can be accessed here.

To visit the KanCare website directly and check enrollee status, follow the link and click the red chat bubble.

For those that lose their coverage due to a change in eligibility, they can apply for coverage through the Health Care Marketplace.

To read the latest on what’s happening in Kansas, you can read this article from Topeka’s Capital Journal, here.

Medicaid Renewal Kansas Helper Network – Smartsheet.com offers a fantastic hub of a number of resources for providers, agencies, organizations and enrollees.

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Webinars

“Medicaid Renewals 101” – July 12, 2023

This is the first installment of our two-part webinar series covering Medicaid Renewals in Kansas. We cover the nuts and bolts of the renewal process and present resources you can use to best serve your communities and clients throughout this process.

Medicaid Renewals in Kansas Webinar Part One “On the Ground”

This is the second installment of our two-part webinar series covering Medicaid Renewals in Kansas. We take a closer look at tips and tricks to help you navigate this process. We hear from community leaders in Kansas about their successes and some of the challenges they have faced.

Medicaid Renewals in Kansas Webinar for Faith Communities

This installment of our webinar series covering Medicaid Renewals in Kansas speaks directly to faith communities. We take a closer look at ways faith communities can assist folks through this process. We cover background information on the Medicaid renewal process and resources available.

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Resources for Faith Communities

CMS toolkit for faith-based communities

Sermon Guides – Let the Little Children – Week 2

Church Bulletin

Social Media Tiles

American Cancer Society Toolkit

This opinion piece by Health Fund President David Jordan originally appeared in the Kansas Reflector on June 28, 2023.

Over the next 18 months, the state of Kansas will have an opportunity to improve the health of Kansans.

Taking advantage of this opportunity will not require passing legislation. Instead, it will require the state embracing an innovative approach to the contracting process for the state’s Medicaid managed care program, KanCare.

The state’s KanCare program provides health coverage to approximately 400,000 Kansans, including children, low-income parents and Kansans with disabilities. The KanCare program is managed by private insurers, known as managed care organizations, that contract with the state to deliver high-quality health benefits to enrollees.

As the state begins the contracting process for KanCare, the state has an opportunity to improve the health and experience of enrollees. With new MCO contracts, Kansas can do more than in the past to advance health equity, support children’s health and development, narrow health disparities, and ensure critical community linkages and supports for enrollees.

We can achieve these goals by learning from other states that have leveraged their managed care programs to prioritize community involvement, support primary care by recognizing that prevention is paramount, especially for young children, and investing in innovations that address health-related social needs and the social drivers of health.

As Kansas prepares to solicit bids, the state should leverage strategies that will convey a clear message to prospective MCOs about their expectations and should require MCOs to respond to specific questions aimed at distinguishing their approach to addressing issues of concern to Kansans. For example:

• How will you ensure that all enrollees have access to the care they need to attain the highest level of health, and how will you improve data collection to track equity improvements?
• What will you do to focus attention on the health of rural Kansans?
• How will you deploy community based providers such as community health workers, doulas, community paramedics, home-visitors and peers to ensure that KanCare enrollees have sufficient access to services in community-based settings?
• Given Kansas’ extension of Medicaid coverage to 12 months post-partum, what will you do to ensure a robust set of benefits are available to this group?
• How will you ensure a two-generation approach to care, including screening and treatment for caregiver depression?
• How will you ensure comprehensive screening and effective referrals for health-related social needs, and how will you forge meaningful partnerships with community organizations to address needs?

Kansas can set the expectation of innovation by requiring at least one cross-plan performance improvement plan focused on driving statewide change and use of a public-facing dashboard to contribute to transparency.

The state has the authority — and obligation — to require a level of excellence in health care delivery that can improve health care quality and produce better health outcomes in both the short term and over time. Kansas also can incentivize and assist MCOs to perform at the highest levels, placing significant value on continuous quality improvement.

To focus on improving health, Kansas can ensure KanCare dollars are spent on enrollees’ health instead of administrative costs. Currently, at least 85% of payments to MCOs must go to improving health outcomes, but more can be done. Rather than being penalized, MCOs that don’t meet this obligation should invest the difference in activities that improve health outcomes through strengthening connections with the communities they serve.

Alternatively, Kansas can catalyze further investment in innovation by increasing the MCO’s obligation to provide health coverage to, say, 88%, and allowing MCOs to “count” a portion of expenditures on specific priorities (such as advancing equity, community involvement and reinvestment, attention to health-related social needs and enriching primary care services).

 The best way to ensure there is accountability, transparency and oversight built into the contracts is by the state setting those expectations and planning for it in the contracting process. This should be grounded in thorough and intentional data reporting and as well as consistent and accessible data sharing, especially for race, ethnicity and geography.

Most importantly, throughout the contracting process and implementation of the new contracts, we encourage Kansas to continue to promote opportunities for KanCare enrollees and Kansans to voice concerns about whether the systems are working for them and to improve the health of Kansas. Meaningful engagement, particularly with enrollees and underserved Kansans, will build a better health care system for all Kansans and result in a healthier state.

Public comments about this process are due in early July to be considered by the state government on this important contracting process.

David Jordan is the president of the Hutchinson-based United Methodist Health Ministry Fund. Through its opinion section, the Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.

As Kansas begins the competitive reprocurement process for KanCare, its Medicaid managed care program, the Health Fund commends the state’s approach as it actively seeks stakeholder input and ideas to stimulate innovations to improve the program.  

As an organization committed to improving the health of all Kansans, the Health Fund recently submitted comments encouraging the KanCare 3.0 reprocurement process to prioritize KanCare enrollees – by focusing especially on improving enrollee health, enhancing the enrollee experience with insurers and the health system, reducing disparities and advancing health equity. 

With our state’s Medicaid program serving nearly 500,000 members, the upcoming reprocurement process offers a significant opportunity to improve the health and experience of enrollees. This process will result in the best solutions when stakeholders like enrollees, providers, advocates and others have a seat at the table. We are grateful that our state continues to listen to these voices, and we encourage the state to take an even more dedicated active listening approach. 

You can read our official comments [here], and you can follow along with our additional comments in the coming weeks right here on our blog.

You can read our official comments on rural workforce issues [here].

You can read our official comments on maternal and child health [here].

You can read our official comments on family planning [here].