Like many of you, I don’t typically make healthcare decisions based on the cost of services.
Sadly, this is not the case for many of our clients, who earn too much to qualify for the current Medicaid program in Kansas, but do not make enough money to afford quality health insurance elsewhere. When the Affordable Care Act was enacted more than 10 years ago, Medicaid expansion was a key part of the safety net.
However, Kansas legislators have continually passed up the opportunity to join 37 states that have already adopted and implemented the expansion of Medicaid coverage to individuals earning up to 138% of the federal poverty level. Medicaid expansion would provide coverage for 165,000 Kansans, including many of our clients.
In the meantime, people continue to be uninsured and forced to choose whether they can pay for critical care or make next month’s rent payment. Social workers at JFS regularly work with individuals in the Medicaid coverage gap to find resources to cover medical expenses they need to continue working and remain as healthy as possible. These resources are often limited or simply only provide short-term solutions.
People in the coverage gap often have mental health needs.
Last year, JFS provided mental health counseling to 369 individuals. In Kansas, almost one-third of people who would qualify for coverage under Medicaid expansion experience mental illness or substance use disorder, with less than 14% receiving treatment. Coverage through Medicaid would ensure more people would be likely to receive necessary services.
Through Medicaid expansion, JFS and other providers of mental health services in Kansas could serve thousands more in need, providing an avenue for individuals to navigate the challenges in their lives more easily — not to mention building healthier families and communities.
Opponents in the Kansas Legislature cite budget shortages as a major reason for denying this coverage to their constituents, even though the overall budget impact of Medicaid expansion would be offset by savings to existing health programs and increased funding from the federal government. This would include additional federal incentives under the American Rescue Plan.
In fact, if Kansas had expanded Medicaid earlier, Kansas hospitals and other healthcare providers would have seen an infusion of hundreds of millions of dollars to support healthcare in the state. Instead, families most in need have forgone treatment, and Kansas healthcare institutions are financially weaker today than they otherwise would have been. It’s a lose-lose situation for Kansas. It’s time to make it a win-win.
For an agency like JFS working to support and strengthen lives in greater Kansas City, the choice is clear: Kansas legislators should once and for all pass Medicaid expansion. And you can make a difference.
First, follow Medicaid expansion efforts and learn more about its importance through the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas at expandkancare.com.
Second, tell your legislators you support expansion and remind them this should be an immediate priority by the end of this legislative session. Too many of our clients and other Kansans have gone without adequate care for too long. Together, we can help change their lives for the better.
Don Goldman is executive director and CEO of Jewish Family Services of Greater Kansas City
