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The United States has a patchwork system of long-term medical care that usually leaves elderly people and their families footing most of the bill. Medicaid can cover much of the cost, but in Kansas and Missouri, seniors and people with disabilities have to earn below the poverty level and have less than $2,000 in assets before they can qualify for Medicaid.
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Three years after the Missouri Supreme Court overwhelmingly ruled that the Missouri legislature must pay Planned Parenthood for treating Medicaid patients, the issue is back before the high court because lawmakers again attempted to strip the organization's funding.
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Kids made up almost half of Missouri residents disenrolled from Medicaid since renewals resumed this year, even though children are eligible for coverage at higher levels than adults. And paperwork issues are the main reason most Missourians are dropped — not lack of eligibility.
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States were banned from removing people from Medicaid during the COVID-19 public health emergency unless a person moved, died or asked to be taken off. Now that the pandemic has been declared over, Missouri and Kansas have resumed checking eligibility — and the process has not been going well.
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For five years, the Republican-controlled legislature has thwarted Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's efforts to pass Medicaid expansion, which is overwhelmingly supported by Kansas voters. Kelly is pushing for it once again in the upcoming legislative session, and she hopes it will become a major issue for the 2024 elections.
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Around 70% of Kansans said they support or strongly support expanding Medicaid, according to a new poll from Fort Hays State University, including nearly 55% of Republicans.
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Kansans unnecessarily lost Medicaid eligibility because of confusion over signatures, slow mail delivery and a lack of clear communication from the state. Some 12,000 adults or children eligible for the health coverage program were stripped of benefits due to processing issues.
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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said more than two-dozen states, including Kansas, failed to conduct renewal assessments properly and consequently disenrolled too many people. Officials say that Medicaid expansion — which GOP lawmakers in Kansas have repeatedly blocked — would have protected some of the patients.
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Missouri’s share of children being disenrolled from Medicaid is third-highest among the states that report age breakouts. Nearly 40,000 kids total lost coverage — mostly for paperwork reasons — and it's not yet clear how many were able to cycle back or move to another program.
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Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly says her top priority for the 2024 legislative session is passing Medicaid expansion. But the Democratic governor is up against Republican super-majorities in the House and Senate. Kelly spoke on KCUR's Up To Date about how she plans to make it happen.
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Low-income people who are disabled or over 65 — or both — qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid. In 2022, that included 203,000 people in Missouri and 75,000 in Kansas. A bipartisan group of lawmakers agree: the two insurance programs are failing the country's most vulnerable patients.
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After the Missouri legislature voted to block Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid reimbursements last year, Planned Parenthood sued. A judge concluded it was unconstitutional for the state to deny access to funds available to other health care providers, but the attorney general's office is appealing.