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For Immediate Release:
February 1, 2024
Contact:
Grace Hoge
[email protected]
ICYMI: Working Parents Still Can't Find
Affordable Health Insurance in Kansas
KEY QUOTE: “Being just one of 10 states left to expand Medicaid, Kansas is long overdue to help thousands of Kansans get the health care they need to grow, learn, and work. The Kansas Legislature must expand Medicaid in 2024. Kansas kids – and their parents and caregivers — are waiting.”
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Right now, the parents of kids in a family of four would qualify for Medicaid only if their income was below 38% of the federal poverty level, which is just $11,400 per year for a family of four. If their income is above $11,400 but below $30,000, they have no access to health insurance that would have no or little premium amount to pay. Instead, the adults in this family sit in the coverage gap. Expanding Medicaid would resolve this coverage gap.
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And not only would expanding Medicaid get parents like these on the path to better health, but it would also help many Kansas kids get covered themselves.
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Thousands of Kansas children remain uninsured. It’s currently about 1 in 20 Kansas kids. Studies show that when parents sign up for insurance programs — such as when Medicaid has been expanded in other states — it’s more likely they will enroll their kids, too.
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When parents are insured, kids are more likely to receive regular checkups and preventive care, and the parents are likely to take care of their own health care needs.
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Expanding Medicaid would result in more kids getting signed up for health insurance coverage, helping parents address their own health needs and result in a healthier Kansas.
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