Healthcare Postcards from Kansas
There is a stack of postcards on the table outside the Sanctuary given to us by a local organization called More2 (More - Squared) that is working to build a more just society. The postcards are the opening move in a faith-based, nonpartisan campaign to expand Medicaid (KanCare) in Kansas. Anyone interested is asked to fill out a postcard and return it to the basket; these will be picked up on January 8 by leaders of More2. You can also fill one out online at https://more2.org/ks-medicaid-postcard.
Here are some ways expanding KanCare would benefit Kansas families and communities:
1. Save lives and improve health
2. Benefit children - low-income children are 29% more likely to get annual doctor visits if their parents are enrolled in Medicaid.
3. Control health insurance costs for everyone - by having more people insured, it helps keep the cost of insurance from going up.
4. Protect access to care for rural communities (75 hospitals in Kansas, mostly rural, are at risk of closing; 8 have closed since 2015).
5. Insure 150,000 working Kansans who make too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to qualify for assistance to buy a private plan; 7,900 live in Johnson County.
6. Boost our state economy: if we expanded KanCare we would bring hundreds of millions of federal tax dollars back to our state and create over 23,000 jobs; that includes over 1,300 jobs and $59 million in Johnson County.
