Kansas
Kansas uninsured rate remains worse than national average; 240K without health coverage • Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — Kansans are uninsured at a rate higher than the rest of the country for a third-straight year, but the effects of Medicaid “unwinding” have yet to be seen, recent U.S. Census Bureau data shows.
More than 240,000 Kansas residents are without health insurance, which translates to an uninsured rate of 8.4%, according to American Community Survey data, which was released Sept. 12.
The national uninsured rate is just below 8%, and 2023 is the third year in a row Kansas’ rate has exceeded the national one, according to the Kansas Health Institute, a Topeka-based nonpartisan research organization. However, the 2023 Kansas uninsured rate is an improvement from 2022, when it was at 8.6%.
“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 chief executive officer, in a news release.
COVID-19 policies required Medicaid programs to keep people continuously enrolled in their health insurance until the end of the public health emergency unless the person moved away, died or requested to end coverage. During that time, enrollment in KanCare, as Medicaid is known in Kansas, increased from 410,000 to 540,000 people.
Beginning in April 2023, states began “unwinding” these pandemic-era protections, which, in Kansas, resulted in roughly 114,000 people losing coverage as of August. Kansas completed its unwinding in May.
“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,” Buffett said.
Latino Kansans were uninsured in 2023 at a rate of 20%, which was four percentage points higher than the national uninsured rate among Latinos. Nearly 11% of Black Kansans were uninsured in 2023 while white Kansans were uninsured at a rate of nearly 6%. People with incomes below the federal poverty threshold, which was about $30,000 annually for a family of four in 2023, were uninsured at a rate of nearly 17%, according to the survey data.
Kansas is one of 10 U.S. states that have not expanded Medicaid eligibility requirements to include most adults who make up to 138% of the federal poverty threshold. That’s $20,783 or less for an individual and no more than $43,056 for a family of four. In Kansas, the eligibility requirements to qualify for KanCare are much more stringent. Children, their parents, pregnant women, seniors and people with disabilities qualify for KanCare if their household income falls within varying levels of the poverty threshold. Parents qualify for coverage if their yearly earnings are less than 38% of the federal poverty threshold, which is about $11,900 or less for a family of four in 2024.
Nationally, the uninsured rate for those making less than 138% of the poverty threshold “significantly decreased” in 2023, but Kansas’ decrease wasn’t significant, KHI said.
In February, KHI estimated a Medicaid expansion plan proposed by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly would provide coverage to 152,000 low-income Kansans, including 45,000 children, with no net cost to the state for eight years. The GOP-led Legislature blocked the plan from advancing.
The Kansas and national uninsured rates are both at their lowest since 2009, according to the survey data. Uninsured rates in Kansas and the rest of the country peaked in 2010 at nearly 14% and 15.5% respectively.
Kansas
Kansas City man sentenced for cocaine trafficking, possession of illegal firearm
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A Kansas City man was sentenced in federal court for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy and possession of an illegal firearm.
According to the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, 22-year-old Antoine R. Gillum was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole.
His sentencing stems from a June 2024 incident in a metro gas station. KCPD investigators contacted Gillum inside and found that he had discarded a 9 mm pistol in an aisle between the merchandise. He also discarded a pill bottle containing multiple illegal substances: cocaine base, oxycodone/acetaminophen and oxycodone.
Officers searched the vehicle Gillum had arrived in and found approximately 32 grams of cocaine base.
On May 6, 2025, Gillum pleaded guilty to one count each of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Jennings. It’s a part of ‘Operation Take Back America,’ a nationwide Department of Justice initiative to eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
No further information has been released.
Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.
Kansas
Deadly 4-car crash kills 2 people, injures others in Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A crash near a busy highway killed two people and injured two others.
Emergency crews responded to the crash at U.S. 71 Highway and Meyer Boulevard around 12:40 p.m. on Monday, March 2.
When crews arrived they determined four cars were involved in the crash.
Police are investigating how the crash happened.
Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.
Kansas
Homegrown Jayhawk stars ready to shine at Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KCTV) – As Kansas women’s basketball prepares to enter the postseason at the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, they’ll be led by two Overland Park natives who have been two of the most electrifying players to watch in the country this year.
Junior guard S’Mya Nichols and freshman forward Jaliya Davis have played integral roles in the recent growth of the program. Both cite the desire to help grow the Jayhawks into something special as reasons for committing there.
“Where we wanted to take Kansas women’s basketball, I wanted to be a part of that growing evolution,” Nichols told KCTV5.
“We [my family] were also really big Jayhawk fans. We came to a lot of games,” Davis said about her childhood.
The two were both 5-star recruits in high school, and their commitments marked historic recruiting victories for the KU women’s basketball program.
First came Nichols in the Class of 2023, picking KU over Tennessee and Oklahoma.
“I genuinely wanted to go to Kansas,” she said.
Then Davis became the highest-rated player to ever commit to KU as part of the Class of 2025.
“When you go back to S’Mya Nichols being a local, Kansas City, Overland Park product, a nationally respected player, Jaliya was really the next one that was very important for the Jayhawks to keep home,” said head coach Brandon Schneider.
Now as a junior, Nichols has established herself as one of the most consistent scorers and physical guards in the nation.
But it’s the Shawnee Mission West’s alum’s leadership that defines her legacy in Lawrence.
“The team leader, the quarterback,” Coach Schneider described Nichols. “I think oftentimes the player that everybody looks up to off the court.”
“I mean it means everything. Knowing that I’m important to the team, and that they see me as that as well,” said Nichols with a smile.
Both Nichols and Davis were recruited by the Jayhawks for years, going all the way back to seventh grade.
“Well, we offered her in middle school,’ Coach Schneider said with a laugh about Davis.
“Oh he put in a lot of work,” laughed Davis. “I mean, obviously, seventh grade, that’s a long time.”
It was that dedication from Coach Schneider that led her to choose the Jayhawks over Texas, South Carolina, Baylor, and Oklahoma – where he dad played ball.
“I think it really was the relationship we had and grew. He was always there, every single one of my games,” Davis said about Schneider.
After just one practice as teammates, Nichols voiced a big belief about Davis into existence – and it’s probably going to come true.
“I saw her first practice, and I sent her a text, and I’m like ‘I think you can win Freshman of the Year’, and I still stand by that,”
Davis is averaging 21.0 points per game, and has been named the Big 12 Freshman of the Week for eight weeks in a row. That sets a power conference all-time record.
“I think it’s really cool. I mean obviously it’s a team effort, they’re always looking for me,” Davis said about her historic accomplishment.
“Just a phenomenal stretch of basketball for her, and so well deserving,” said Coach Schneider.
Now these two homegrown stars are at the forefront of a late-season push to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Right now, CBS Sports bracketology has them as a ‘First Four Out’ team.
But a few wins in the Big 12 Tournament could certainly help seal their invite to the big dance.
“Obviously we’re not in the position that we were hoping to be in, but I think we can make the most out of it, and get to where we want to be,” Davis said about the opportunity at hand in the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City.
The Overland Park kids are especially fired up about starting the postseason in their own backyard.
“I have a big support system. So I bet my family will take a big chunk of that area during that tournament,” Davis laughed.
“I remember being younger, and the College Basketball Experience is right next door. So I felt like at one moment that was the big stage, when I got to play my little AAU tournaments in there. And then all of a sudden I’m literally in T-Mobile Center on the actual big stage, so it’s pretty cool,” said Nichols.
The Jayhawks are the 11-seed in the Big 12 Tournament, and will face 14-seed UCF in the first round on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m.
Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.
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