Working parents still can’t find affordable health insurance coverage in Kansas

Recently, I visited the federal health insurance exchange to learn what types of health insurance coverage a working family of four could qualify for and how much it would cost.

I plugged in a Salina ZIP code (67401) and information about the family — a married couple, ages 35 and 33, with two kids, ages 10 and 5, and a household income of about $29,000 per year (which is right below the federal poverty level). The mom works full time as a personal care aide (a job that typically doesn’t provide any health insurance benefit) and the dad has an untreated health condition that makes it difficult for him to work regularly, so he stays home with the kids.

Fortunately, both kids qualified for Medicaid coverage, which they are already enrolled in. But the parents still needed coverage. The mom hadn’t had insurance since her most recent pregnancy, and that ended 60 days following birth.

I clicked the “View Full Price Plans” button and much to my shock, the options listed were not the $0 or $15 premium plans touted by television ads I’ve seen. Instead, I saw premiums at $600, $700 and higher amounts (per month), with varying levels of high deductibles, co-pays and coverage.

It gets worse.

If the same family makes $30,000 per year instead and chooses a silver plan, they receive more savings and increased coverage options. But those same plans for the family making $29,000 per year? The coverage might be a bit better, but the premiums are now around or above $900 a month.

To put that into perspective, for a family making $29,000 per year, or a little more than $2,300 per month (before taxes), almost 30% of their income would go toward paying health insurance premiums. How are they expected to afford food (maybe they’d get SNAP benefits, if they could jump through those hoops to apply), housing, transportation, clothing and their share of medical bills until their deductible kicks in?

If they only made $1,000 more per year, their insurance premium would be $0 per month. Instead, they have no choice but to go without health insurance coverage, resulting in waiting too long to get medical care, ending up in emergency rooms and being unable to pay for their care out of pocket (for which the hospitals are never compensated).

How is this situation fair?

Right now, the parents of kids in a family of four would qualify for Medicaid only if their income was below 38% of the federal poverty level, which is just $11,400 per year for a family of four. If their income is above $11,400 but below $30,000, they have no access to health insurance that would have no or little premium amount to pay. Instead, the adults in this family sit in the coverage gap.

Expanding Medicaid would resolve this coverage gap.

And not only would expanding Medicaid get parents like these on the path to better health, but it would also help many Kansas kids get covered themselves.

Thousands of Kansas children remain uninsured. It’s currently about 1 in 20 Kansas kids.

Studies show that when parents sign up for insurance programs — such as when Medicaid has been expanded in other states — it’s more likely they will enroll their kids, too. And kids’ health reflects the health and well-being of their parents. When parents are insured, kids are more likely to receive regular checkups and preventive care, and the parents are likely to take care of their own health care needs.

Expanding Medicaid would result in more kids getting signed up for health insurance coverage, helping parents address their own health needs and result in a healthier Kansas.

For the hardworking Kansans who may not have kids but make low wages — such as child care providers and other direct support workers — they also may make too little to qualify for federal exchange subsidies. At a time when we are facing a worker crisis in the country, individuals will be forced to choose jobs that pay them enough to qualify for the federal exchange just so they can access medical care when they need it.

Being just one of 10 states left to expand Medicaid, Kansas is long overdue to help thousands of Kansans get the health care they need to grow, learn, and work. The Kansas Legislature must expand Medicaid in 2024.

Kansas kids – and their parents and caregivers — are waiting.

Heather Braum is the health policy adviser at Kansas Action for Children. Through its opinion section, the Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.