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Excerpt from kansasreflector.com
TOPEKA — As the dust settles on the state’s bumpy large-scale review of Medicaid eligibility, numbers show approximately 47% of Kansans kicked off of state health insurance coverage are 18 or younger.
Heather Braum, senior policy adviser with Kansas Action for Children, said health insurance gaps could lead to long-term damaging effects.
“Even short gaps in coverage cause children to miss vital prescriptions or not be able to see a doctor when they are sick,” Braum said. “These data indicate that thousands of Kansas children are likely going without the protection that health coverage provides, which will lead to poorer health in the short and long term while their families are exposed to high medical costs and medical debt. Health insurance coverage and access during childhood can change the trajectory of a child’s life, for better or worse.”
Of the 75,532 Kansans who lost health care coverage, 24,673 were between the ages of 0-12. Another 10,632 were between the ages of 13-18, according to the latest data.