This is the written testimony we are delivering at the hearing on HB 2064 in Topeka on Tuesday, February 7. We are supporting the expansion of KanCare to cover 150,000 more Kansans. You can download our testimony here.

Testimony to House Committee on Health and Human Services
Chair, Rep. Daniel Hawkins
Hearing: Wednesday, February 8, 2017, 1:30 pm, Room 112-N

Position – SUPPORT HB 2064

Chairman Hawkins, and Members of the Committee, 

The MainStream Coalition supports HB 2064, building a bridge to KanCare for 150,000 Kansans who cannot afford or do not qualify for subsidized healthcare care services.

This legislation will not only improve the health outcomes of those Kansas individuals and families who would receive care, among them thousands of veterans, it  will improve the health of Kansas herself. Independent studies have shown that closing the Medicaid gap in Kansas would incur a minimal cost to the state, while creating thousands of jobs, protecting rural communities, and controlling escalating insurance costs that threaten health care for every Kansan.

Soon after Kansas took on the monumental burden of managing the state’s Medicaid program, it was clear that changes would need to be made. Federal authorities have now weighed in on the program’s difficulties, and national politics have made the security of health care even murkier.

This uncertainty makes this precisely the time for Kansas to stand up for all of its citizens, to enhance our standing among the states, and to bring healthier outcomes, more jobs, and millions of dollars of health care funding to our citizens.

We urge you to support HB 2064 for passage to the full House.

Thank you,

Brandi Fisher
Executive Director, MainStream Coalition