TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly’s bipartisan Medicaid expansion proposal received support from disability advocates across the state during a Medicaid expansion hearing in the Kansas Legislature last month. Testimony was presented at a House Health and Human Services Committee hearing and at a joint session of the Senate Public Health and Human Services Committee and the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
The Medicaid expansion will provide insurance coverage to approximately 15,000 Kansans with disabilities, helping more Kansans have access to essential health care and services.
Here’s what they’re saying:
“Medicaid expansion will improve the quality of life and access to care for seniors, as well as the people with disabilities we serve. Many of those eligible for Medicaid expansion suffer from chronic illnesses and complex health conditions that make it difficult for them to hold down a job. Expanding Medicaid puts more money back in eligible recipients’ pockets to pay for bills, groceries and more.”
— Commissioner Laura Howard, Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services
“Access to affordable health insurance through Medicaid is essential to attracting and retaining quality direct care workers. When individuals with disabilities don’t have access to direct care workers, they have no choice but to live in expensive facilities, which places a significant burden on both residents and Kansas taxpayers. Expanding Medicaid will help address the critical shortage of in-home direct care workers and provide an incentive for individuals.”
—Rocky Nichols, Executive Director, Kansas Disability Rights Center
“Most long-term care facilities are not equipped to accommodate individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, which creates a significant gap in access to health care providers. Simply put, if you can’t communicate with your health care provider, you can’t get the care and services you need. The good news is that by expanding Medicaid, we can begin to address this problem right away.”
—Robert Cooper, Executive Director, Kansas Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
“Many people with disabilities cannot financially qualify for Medicaid and live in poverty, unable to purchase health insurance or obtain the medical services they need. And some of our members, like other people with disabilities, have worked for employers that did not provide health care. Expanding Medicaid will provide affordable health care to people with disabilities, allowing them to continue working while improving their health.”
—Martha Gabehart, Executive Director, Kansas Commission on Disability Issues
“Statewide, personal care attendants serve a critical role throughout our health care system, especially in underserved rural areas, yet they are subject to coverage gaps. As a result, my research reveals that Kansas personal care attendants are nearly twice as likely to be uninsured (24.1%) than the national average for working-age adults (12.2%). This coverage gap affects not only the uninsured, but also: [personal care attendants]and also impacts Medicaid waiver recipients who rely on these workers to meet their care needs.”
—Carrie Wendell Hamel, Director of the Center for Research on Aging and Disability Options at the University of Kansas
“Currently, Kansans with disabilities can only receive Medicaid by proving that they have a disability and that the person is unable to engage in ‘substantial gainful activity,’ essentially making the person unable to work. Medicaid expansion will allow people with disabilities to secure health insurance coverage and medical care without having to leave the workforce.”
—Ami Hyten, Executive Director, Topeka Independent Living Resource Center
“We have a daughter with Rett Syndrome. She also suffers from scoliosis, seizures and is completely dependent on others to care for her. Medicaid expansion will benefit her and others like her who need specialized care from doctors and take medication to control their seizures. We need Medicaid expansion in our state.”
—Barbara and John Kenton, Kansas
Testimony from the House hearing can be found here, and testimony from the Senate intelligence hearing can be found here.
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