Hope for KanCare expansion

The hope among Kansas hospitals that the state might expand Medicaid grew ever so slightly this week. Bills to do so were scheduled for House hearings March 18-19, and remarks by Gov. Sam Brownback indicated he may be softening his stance against it.

Even these small encouraging signs of movement are worth cheering, because the stakes are so high for Kansas.

Only 13 other states have declined to expand their Medicaid systems as called for by the Affordable Care Act, with many other Republican governors finding market-focused ways to do so.

An expansion of KanCare, Brownback’s managed-care privatization of the Medicaid health care system for the poorest Kansans, would be a huge help to hospitals and other providers newly suffering losses in reimbursement related to the ACA. More important, it would newly cover Kansans still falling through the cracks under ACA, because their income is such that they don’t qualify for either KanCare or the federal subsidies that would enable them to buy their own coverage.

Speaking to insurance agents Wednesday, as reported by the Lawrence Journal-World, the governor said “that anything we do on Medicaid expansion has to be 100-percent paid for.” He also restated his belief that having the Legislature decide on expansion is “the way to go because it’s going to involve long-term costs.”

Fortunately, a bill put forward by the House Vision 2020 Committee anticipates such concerns. While the federal government has committed to covering 90 percent of the cost of insuring the newly eligible through 2020, the state’s share could be funded by fees on hospitals and other providers. The Kansas Hospital Association supports such a funding strategy – a reflection of how crucial expansion is to providers. Studies have said potential benefits to Kansas include 3,700 new jobs and $2.2 billion in federal funding by 2020.

The plans to hold hearings and the governor’s new tone should lead to a full consideration of KanCare expansion, which could mean better care, better health and better quality of life for thousands of Kansans and better bottom lines for hospitals.

For the editorial board, Rhonda Holman

This story was originally published March 5, 2015 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Hope for KanCare expansion."