Molly Gotobed laughed when asked if Medicaid unwinding in Kansas had been as bad as she expected.
"Every bit," she said.
Gotobed is the program director at Kansas Assistance Network/Community Health Council of Wyandotte County, which helps people navigate health insurance. During the COVID-19 public health emergency, states weren't allowed to remove people from Medicaid unless they moved, died or asked to be unenrolled.
Now, Missouri and Kansas have started checking patients' eligibility again — and removing people who they say no longer qualify.
But it hasn't been a smooth process. Thousands of patients in both states, and millions nationwide, have lost health coverage for a variety of procedural reasons, including problems receiving or submitting paperwork, or not understanding the process.
And while some have re-applied and gotten their coverage back, strict Medicaid rules in Kansas mean many, including Robyn Adams of Newton, fall into a group that doesn't qualify for state insurance and can't afford marketplace rates.
- Emily Dreher, director of eligibility and enrollment at KC Care Health Center
- Molly Gotobed, program director at Kansas Assistance Network/Community Health Council of Wyandotte County
- Robyn Adams, resident of Newton, Kansas
