Earlier this month, Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle, Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee Chairwoman Vicki Schmidt, and Senate Ways and Means Chairwoman Carolyn McGinn expressed concerns with the implementation of KanCare 2.0
"After careful consideration regarding the discussion that took place during the Public Health and Welfare Committee, we are hesitant to move forward with KanCare 2.0. We believe there is still work to do to stabilize KanCare 1.0 and that there is no certain path forward for KanCare 2.0 at this time."
Areas of concern included meeting the needs of mental and behavioral health, as well as eligibility through the clearinghouse and providers capacity to serve Kansans.
UCS submitted testimony during recent hearings on KanCare 2.0, noting that adding work requirements for Medicaid in the KanCare 2.0 renewal application creates an undue burden on the most vulnerable population and are counterproductive. Lessons learned from other state programs demonstrate that work requirement policies do little to help people find and keep work and, in fact, are ineffective at connecting people to living-wage jobs that provide affordable health insurance. Unfortunately, work requirements and lifetime limits are still components of the proposed KanCare 2.0.