Latest news with #REACHHealthcareFoundation
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Kansas faces $3.77B in Medicaid cuts, thousands to lose coverage under Trump's bill: report
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas will lose more than $3 billion in Medicaid funding, and thousands of Kansans will lose access to health insurance under Trump's proposed bill, according to a new report. New modeling shows 13,000 fewer Kansans would be able to enroll in Medicaid under the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' recently passed by the U.S. House, and the state would lose $3.77 billion in total Medicaid funding. Man charged in death of Platte County sports reporter shot on I-29 The modeling showed $2.29 billion in lost federal Medicaid funding alone—and $3.77 billion when combined with associated state funding losses over a 10-year period. Such losses would likely lead to higher uninsured rates and more financial struggles for rural hospitals already on the brink of closure. These results were recently released by Manatt Health, which conducted the analysis at the request of Kansas health philanthropies United Methodist Health Ministry Fund and REACH Healthcare Foundation. The two organizations wanted to better understand the financial and enrollment impacts of the bill, which would cut $700 billion from Medicaid and is awaiting a vote in the Senate. Medicaid, the public health insurance program that covers more than 366,000 Kansans, is funded jointly by the state and federal government. It provides low-income parents, children, seniors and people with disabilities with health insurance. Adults who do not have children do not qualify for Medicaid in Kansas. 'If this bill passes, it will cause long-lasting harm to thousands of families across Kansas and seriously threaten the survival of rural hospitals across the state,' said Brenda Sharpe, president and CEO at REACH Healthcare Foundation. The analysis shows Kansas will face significant coverage losses and funding reductions over the next 10 years. Manatt said the losses are even greater than shown in the analysis, as data limitations made it unable to model all the provisions in the bill. The estimates do not account for prohibitions on states setting up any new provider taxes or increasing assessments for other providers. That will cause Kansas health care providers, including nursing homes and other health providers, to lose critical funding over time and cause them to become even more financially vulnerable, Manatt said in a news release Wednesday. Coverage losses due to the bill's changes to the Affordable Care Act's Health Insurance Marketplace also couldn't be modeled. However, they will result in additional Kansans losing health insurance, according to Manatt. Not only will the bill remove people's health insurance, it also will remove food assistance. The bill includes $300 billion in cuts from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). 'Congress is trying to rush a plan through the process that will take health care and food assistance away from tens of thousands of Kansans, including children, seniors and people with disabilities,' said David Jordan, president and CEO at the Health Fund. 'At a time when hospitals are trying to keep their doors open and working families are struggling to keep a roof over their heads and food on their tables, we cannot afford these cuts.' Kansas already has more hospitals at risk of closure than any other state in the country. A recent report from the University of Kansas School of Nursing highlights the growing 'maternal care desert' in Kansas. Manatt said 63 rural hospitals are currently at risk, and 87% of Kansas rural hospitals are operating in the red. These hospitals struggle to survive with existing federal funding – and provisions in the bill would cause them to lose billions, making it even harder to stay open. When rural hospitals close, it removes job opportunities and access to health care, creating a ripple effect in small communities, Manatt said. You can read the full report below or by clicking here. Medicaid-Cut-Impacts-to-KansasDownload Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Kansas Medicaid advocates share dire forecast of potential congressional funding cuts
REACH Healthcare Foundation and United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, health-related philanthropies serving Kansans, said potential cuts in federal spending on Medicaid could slash health coverage of low-income Kansans and threaten financially struggling hospitals. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — Analysis of potential congressional cuts to Medicaid indicated Kansas' loss of nearly $350 million in the first year and more than $3 billion over 10 years could shrink coverage for vulnerable populations, escalate family medical debt and raise the risk of hospital closures. Reductions in federal financing of Medicaid could lead to downsizing by 5% to 15% the number of Medicaid enrollees in Kansas and trigger a decline of 22% in Medicaid funding to hospitals in the state. Kansas has two-dozen rural hospitals at risk of immediate closure. Shrinking federal funding to Medicaid could add to the burden of uncompensated patient care and threaten hospitals operating on narrow margins. The findings were in a report released Tuesday by REACH Healthcare Foundation and United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, both health-related philanthropies serving Kansans. The report incorporated analysis from Manatt Health, which provides strategic, policy and legal advisory services in the health care industry. Impetus for the projections was upcoming debate in Congress on a goal of cutting $880 billion in federal spending on Medicaid in the next decade. 'The data is clear and deeply concerning,' said David Jordan, president and CEO of United Methodist Health Ministry Fund. 'We will all pay the price – higher costs, increases in local taxes and less access to care – to offset these cuts. It's critical that lawmakers, health care providers, advocates and the people of Kansas recognize the consequences before it's too late.' United Methodist Health Ministry Fund is a statewide foundation that has worked since 1986 to improve the health of Kansans. Medicaid is a joint federal and state program offering health coverage to lower-income Kansas children, seniors, people with disabilities and pregnant women. Medicaid enrolls 366,000 Kansans, including 31% of the state's children. Medicaid supports four of seven nursing home residents in Kansas as well as one in four working-age adults in the state who have a disability, the report said. There is interest among congressional Republicans in adopting a national work requirement for recipients of Medicaid. The Kansas Medicaid program, known as KanCare, doesn't extend coverage to working-age adults regardless of income unless the recipient was a parent, caregiver or a person with a disability. 'Medicaid is the largest source of federal funds in Kansas and any cuts to the program will have severe economic and health impacts felt in every corner of the state,' said Brenda Sharpe, president and CEO of REACH Healthcare Foundation. REACH is a charitable organization striving to improve access to quality, affordable care for uninsured and medically underserved residents of Johnson, Wyandotte and Allen counties in Kansas and Jackson, Cass and Lafayette counties in Missouri. Manatt Health relied on computer modeling to produce one-year and 10-year projections for Medicaid based on the idea of reducing federal expenditures by $880 billion within a decade. The work by Manatt Health was released before Congress completed work on spending adjustments, but the assessment aligned with policy parameters, options and effective dates outlined by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
