Many working Kansans – your neighbors, family and friends – fall in the health insurance gap. As a result, hospitals across the state face significant financial challenges to provide this unpaid care. Hospitals like the South Central Kansas Medical Center are relying on local taxes to fill the void, so the community can keep its hospital. But expanding Medicaid could change that.

“Healthcare is expensive enough, but if we don’t start taking care of our people in a primary care environment, and we wait till they get so sick that they need the ER, then this country will start to see the devastating effects of not having the resources available through Expanded Medicaid, that we need to take care of our population,” said Virgil Watson Jr., CEO at the South Central Kansas Medical Center.

Organizations across the state are lining up to help hospitals and clinics needing the resources available through Medicaid expansion. The Kansas Health Foundation has joined with other foundations and advocacy groups to form the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas. This organization is leading the way as we envision a state where everyone has access to affordable healthcare coverage.

To learn more about these efforts, the partners involved and how you can help, please visit the Alliance’s website at www.expandkancare.com.