Kansas Silver Haired Legislature renews call for Medicaid expansion

Editor’s note: The Kansas Silver Haired Legislature approved five resolutions on issues affecting senior citizens. This third article addresses Medicaid expansion and raising KanCare provider reimbursement rates.

Medicaid expansion could help thousands of older Kansans obtain health insurance before they become eligible for Medicare, according to Tom Schwartz, a member of the Kansas Silver Haired Legislature representing Dickinson County.

Resolution 4402, approved during the organization’s three-day meeting in Topeka, calls on Kansas to expand Medicaid eligibility and increase KanCare provider reimbursement rates.

Kansas is one of nine states that has not adopted full Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act.

Schwartz said one group that could benefit from Medicaid expansion is Kansans between the ages of 60 and 64 who do not have health insurance.

He cited an estimate of 16,000 uninsured Kansans in that age group who could benefit from expansion.

“They are working,” Schwartz said. “They do have income, but they’re in that place where they make a little too much, but they don’t make enough to get their own private insurance,” Schwartz said.

Medicare generally becomes available at age 65, meaning those who lack affordable coverage before then may have to go without insurance or struggle to pay premiums and medical expenses.

Schwartz said Medicaid expansion would provide another path to coverage for eligible residents.

“Ninety percent of the cost is paid for by the federal government with the taxes that we send to pay for that,” he said.

He rejected the argument that expansion primarily benefits people who do not work.

“That’s totally false,” he said, describing that characterization as a misconception about who could qualify for coverage.

Schwartz also expressed frustration that expansion has not advanced through the state legislative process. He said some lawmakers support the idea but have had difficulty getting it considered.

“The two people, the one in the House and the one in the Senate who could allow it to be heard on the floor would not allow it to be heard on the floor in the last two years,” he said. “They just will not allow it to be heard. We have legislators we talk to, and they are in support of it, but they’ve been told they cannot bring it, or they will lose their committee positions.”

The resolution also calls for higher reimbursement rates for KanCare providers. KanCare is Kansas’ Medicaid program, which pays participating providers for covered health care services.

Provider reimbursement is an important part of the broader discussion about access to care. Rates can affect whether health care professionals and organizations are willing and able to serve Medicaid patients.

For older adults, particularly those approaching Medicare eligibility, access to affordable insurance can help address medical needs before they become more serious or costly.

Schwartz said the Silver Haired Legislature wants policymakers to consider Medicaid expansion as a way to improve coverage for uninsured Kansans while addressing concerns about the availability of health care services.

The resolution expresses the group’s position on these issues; any expansion of eligibility or change in reimbursement rates would require action through the appropriate state policy and budget processes.

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