With every passing day, more Kansans feel the impact of the states failure to expand Medicaid. Its our neighbor struggling to get access to affordable health care. Its a friend who works full-time and works hard but cant afford private insurance or a doctors visit. Its a working mother who cant get mental health services to address her undiagnosed depression. Its a young person with a disability who cant get the health coverage he needs to continue working.
To date, Kansas has sent more than 3.4 billion of our tax dollars to be used by other states to pay for their health care. Thats money that could go toward making Kansans healthier. It would also help Kansans who fall in the coverage gap where they make slightly too much to get traditional Medicaid, but not nearly enough to afford private health insurance.
Its not just patients who stand to lose if we fail to expand Medicaid. Our communities and local hospitals are struggling. According to some reports, 30 percent of our states hospitals are considered financially vulnerable. In small communities across our state, these facilities are at serious risk of closure.