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Kansas may face significant losses in federal Medicaid funding under national budget proposals, according to a new analysis by Manatt Health for the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund. The U.S. House budget resolution includes at least $800 billion in Medicaid cuts over 10 years. Medicaid currently funds over two-thirds of Kansas’s program, supporting care for more than 366,000 residents through KanCare.
These cuts could affect children, seniors, people with disabilities, and those needing behavioral health services. Children make up the largest share of enrollees, while older adults and people with disabilities account for most of the spending.
Kansas’s rural hospitals are especially vulnerable. Nearly two-thirds operate at a loss, and one in four is at risk of closing if Medicaid funding declines.
Proposed federal changes include limits on provider taxes, caps on hospital payments, work-reporting requirements, and per-capita federal funding caps. These could cost Kansas hundreds of millions of dollars in lost federal aid and force the state to either raise spending or reduce coverage.
State leaders are now weighing options to protect health care access as Congress prepares to debate and vote on these proposals.
