Kansas Child Uninsured Rate Hits 10-Year High

The share of Kansas children without health insurance climbed in 2024 to its highest level in more than a decade, according to new U.S. Census Bureau data from the American Community Survey (ACS).

Kansas has typically tracked close to the national rate, but the gap widened last year. The percentage of uninsured children in Kansas rose from 5.6 percent in 2023 to 7.0 percent in 2024—the highest since 2013. Nationally, the rate also increased but remained lower at 6.0 percent.

Low-income Kansans also saw a widening gap. In 2024, 18.4 percent of residents living below 138 percent of the federal poverty level (the cutoff for Medicaid expansion in other states) were uninsured. That's up from 16.1 percent in 2023, and notably higher than the national rate of 14.0 percent.

For the fourth year in a row, Kansas' overall uninsured rate was above the national average. About 8.5 percent of Kansans lacked health coverage in 2024, compared to 8.2 percent nationally. That amounts to about 250,000 uninsured Kansans out of 27 million uninsured Americans.

These figures come as Kansas wrapped up its Medicaid "unwinding" process on May 31, 2024—ending continuous coverage protections that had been in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nationally, the unwinding period lasted into 2025.

"Advocates and observers were concerned about how Medicaid unwinding would affect insurance coverage for children," said Kari Bruffett, president and CEO of the Kansas Health Institute. "The new data confirm that the uninsured rate for children increased significantly in 2024."

Highlights from the 2024 ACS data:

Children: Kansas children are more likely to be uninsured than children nationally (7.0% vs. 6.0%).

Low-Income Kansans: Nearly one in five Kansans below the poverty threshold (18.4%) were uninsured, compared to 14.0% nationally.

Racial and Ethnic Gaps: Hispanic Kansans had the highest uninsured rate at 22.0%, nearly four times that of non-Hispanic White Kansans (5.8%) and higher than Hispanic Americans nationwide (17.0%). Black Kansans were uninsured at a rate of 11.4%, nearly double that of non-Hispanic White Kansans and above the national Black uninsured rate of 8.9%.

Young Adults (19–25): Rates held steady at 14.2% in Kansas and 14.0% nationally.

Working-Age Adults (19–64): Kansas remained similar to the national average (11.7% vs. 11.3%).

The American Community Survey (ACS) is a mandatory program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, part of the Department of Commerce. Each year, the ACS reaches more than 3.5 million households to gather critical information used to allocate federal funds and guide community development.

"Upcoming changes—such as a shorter enrollment window and the end of enhanced federal marketplace subsidies—could drive uninsured rates even higher in Kansas and nationwide," Bruffett warned.