El Centro provides health navigation services to assist individuals in accessing needed health care. This work is often frustrating, as El Centro staff encounter considerable gaps in the healthcare system complicating health promotion and disease management efforts. We believe expanding eligibility for Medicaid, as allowed in the Affordable Care Act, would reduce the extent of unmet need in the healthcare system and would, therefore, improve the health status of low-income and otherwise disadvantaged Kansans. We also recognize an ongoing need for safety-net healthcare providers, knitted together to provide access to medical homes for all, and believe Medicaid expansion would complement the critical role of safety-net providers.
States that have expanded Medicaid have seen dramatic decreases in their uninsured populations.
http://www.khi.org/news/article/change-in-kansas-insured-rate-lags-other-states