12/09/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 12/09/2024 21:49
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Sep 12, 2024
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Kaci Cink, M.P.H.,Viktoria Sterkhova, M.P.H.,Angela S Wu, M.S.,Wen-Chieh Lin, Ph.D.TOPEKA, KANSAS, September 2024- Today, Sept. 12, the U.S. Census Bureau released its latest estimates of health insurance coverage in Kansas and across the United States. The 2023 American Community Survey 1-year estimates show Kansas' uninsured rate was 8.4 percent, statistically unchanged from 2022 (8.6 percent). The Kansas uninsured rate of 8.4 percent represents 240,302 uninsured Kansans.
For the third year in a row, the Kansas uninsured rate was higher than the national uninsured rate. The uninsured rate in the U.S. was 7.9 percent in 2023, compared to 8.0 percent in 2022. The 2023 rate represents 26 million uninsured Americans.
The latest data available reflects data collected in 2023, when enrollment on the federally facilitated health insurance marketplaceincreased and Medicaid unwindingbegan. The federal Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) 2023, passed in December 2022, decoupled federal funding for maintaining Medicaid eligibility from the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) gave states up to 12 months, starting April 1, 2023, to initiate reviews to redetermine eligibility for all Medicaid enrollees. Kansas concluded the unwinding process in May 2024.
"While the effects of policies such as the unwinding of the continuous enrollment provisions in Medicaid and the continuation of enhanced subsidies for the federally facilitated marketplace may have combined with other trends in 2023 to keep the uninsured rate steady for Kansans, we expect that those policy effects may not be fully seen until at least next year's release," said Kari Bruffett, KHI president and CEO. "In addition, the data tell us that wide disparities in insurance coverage continued in 2023, and data that will be released this fall will allow us to describe more completely the experiences of Kansans across the state."
Access the full American Community Survey 1-year Estimates data. Read the U.S. Census Bureau release for highlights. Get Kansas-specific data and charts. For additional information or to request an interview, please contact Theresa Freed, KHI director of Strategic Communication and Engagement, at 316-305-5290 or by email at [email protected].
NOTE: The analysis uses data from the 2009-2023 American Community Survey 1-year Estimates released today. The U.S. Census Bureau also released data from the 2023 Current Population Survey. Estimates of insurance coverage this week may differ slightly between the ACS and CPS. The ACS estimates are better for analyzing state-level data and therefore were used in this analysis.
The Kansas Health Institute supports effective policymaking through nonpartisan research, education and engagement. KHI believes evidence-based information, objective analysis and civil dialogue enable policy leaders to be champions for a healthier Kansas. Established in 1995 with a multiyear grant from the Kansas Health Foundation, KHI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization based in Topeka.