Kansas has forfeited $1 billion by rejecting Medicaid expansion, according to the Kansas Hospital Association.
The KHA said in a news release that the $1 billion represents a loss of nearly $11 Kansas taxpayer dollars every second since Jan. 1, 2014 — funds that go to the federal government to be spent in other states for Medicaid expansion.
In light of this, new legislation has been introduced, known as The Bridge to a Healthy Kansas. According to the KHA, the program would expend Medicaid eligibility to about 150,000 residents.
Eligibility requirements would include an annual income less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level, legal U.S./Kansas residency and 20 or more hours per week of
work or a referral to work training (with exemptions for students and stay-at-home parents). Enrollees with incomes above the federal poverty level would also be required to pay a portion of their healthcare costs through monthly contributions to a personal health savings account, according to the KHA.
Some Republican Kansas lawmakers who had opposed expansion have said they're open to considering KHA's new plan, according to a KCUR report. But, KCUR notes, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) and Republican legislative leaders remain opposed and appear determined to keep the issue from passing.
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