Number of Kansas kids without health insurance hits high point for decade

More than 14,000 Kansas children have lost health coverage in the past two years, bringing the total number of uninsured kids in the state to the highest rate of the decade. The numbers released today by the U.S. Census Bureau show that, while Kansas is seeing an increase in uninsured children, that rate is declining on the national level.

According to the data, the number of uninsured Kansas kids has increased from 57,511 to 71,802 over a two-year period. The state has not seen its uninsured rate among children reach this level since 2000. The data also shows that the number of Kansas children being covered by employer-sponsored health plans has declined by 8.6 percent (or 26,000 children) between 2000-2001 and 2007-2008.

“The Census Bureau numbers confirm what we’re hearing in communities around the state,” said Shannon Cotsoradis, executive vice president of Kansas Action for Children. “As more and more employers are being forced to cut jobs or cut benefits, health coverage has become increasingly difficult for many Kansas families to afford.”

In 2008, the Kansas Legislature took bipartisan action to extend eligibility of HealthWave, the state children’s health insurance program, from 200 to 250 percent of poverty. That change goes into effect Jan. 1, 2010, making affordable health coverage available to more children in working-class Kansas families. The HealthWave expansion – combined with a federal grant recently secured by the Kansas Health Policy Authority – are two new tools that the state can put into place to address the health care needs of Kansas children.

“The bad news is we have lost ground on the progress made over the past decade to reduce Kansas’ rate of uninsured children,” said Cotsoradis. “But, the good news is we have some real opportunities to make sure more Kansas kids can get the health care they need at a price their parents can afford.”

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