Kansas families deserve a better, healthier home on the range with Medicaid expansion – Kansas Reflector

There is a great divide between the voices of Kansans and the legislators who are shutting down their right to be heard.

Medicaid expansion is essential to enhance comprehensive health care and long-term care coverage to millions of low-income families across our nation. Kansas is one of only 10 remaining states that have not yet adopted Medicaid expansion. We are losing residents to surrounding states, all of which have expanded their Medicaid eligibility to help eliminate the existing coverage gap experienced by thousands of households.

Do we really need any more barriers preventing appropriate and timely care for health and wellness needs, including adult and pediatric specialists and mental health supports?

There are many benefits to a possible expansion of our state’s Medicaid system, including universal technology integration, drug price regulation, payment reforms, health care workforce optimization, and even fostering public and private partnerships. But above all else, imagine the gains we could make in preventive measures, value-based care and patient empowerment.

Medicaid is supported by the federal government to ensure that all states comply with services that are sufficient in amount and duration to reasonably achieve the health needs; available throughout the state; and serve certain mandatory populations such as poverty-level children and low-income pregnant women. I have worked in the field of public education in one realm or another for the past 13 years, and the number of families continuously affected by our state’s legislators’ lack of empathy is heartbreaking.

How many individuals must lose their job, lose a loved one to preventable disease or risk losing their self-worth before we make this a priority?

As a current graduate student pursuing my master’s in social work, I feel I have a brief opportunity, or rather an obligation, to create a little bit of noise in support of this much-needed policy reform within my home state. Social workers have a unique skill set that is valuable to reinforce and promote the redesign of current health systems to enhance a healthier population and reduce health inequities.

The phrase “where seldom is heard a discouraging word” in our state song gently reminds Kansans that that we are in this together to support our neighbors. We should stand together to do what is best for all of us. Do we not deserve access to prevention and education? Do we not deserve to be the best version of ourselves, to give back as capable and healthy citizens?

Nearly 150,000 Kansans would benefit from Medicaid expansion. Uninsured people are far less likely to get preventative screenings, resulting in an inability to treat major health conditions until they’ve progressed. Studies show that people who have been uninsured for significant periods die more often than their insured counterparts. Our communities deserve better, and our families deserve access. Many rural hospitals have closed their doors, and others are at risk of closing as a result of the current restrictions.

Just last year, 3 million children remained uninsured throughout the United States. Three million children without preventative care, who have seen their life expectancy shortened before they even turn 18.

In an effort to educate stakeholders, Gov. Laura Kelly has traveled to a variety of Kansas communities to educate people on the positive effects that Medicaid expansion could have on our local businesses, workers and to lower the cost of health care for all Kansas residents. Medicaid expansion will strengthen individuals, businesses, hospitals communities and our entire state.

Legislators should remember their ethical duty to provide equal opportunities for every single Kansan.

After all, health care is a right, not a privilege.

April Knudson serves as a school mental health liaison for a Kansas school district and is currently a graduate student at Fort Hays State University in the MSW program. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.