Kansas House Approves Low-Income Health Insurance Subsidy
27 03 08 - 11:34
The Kansas House on Tuesday voted 103-20 to approve legislation that would create an insurance subsidy for low-income residents and expand other health care programs, the Wichita Eagle reports. The measure would provide $4 million to fund the first year of the insurance subsidy. The state Senate eliminated the subsidy provisions from its version of the bill in favor of a modest expansion of SCHIP.
The legislation also would expand Medicaid coverage, and dental and anti-smoking programs to pregnant women with incomes up to 200% of the federal poverty level. Most services currently are limited to individuals with annual incomes up to 150% of the poverty level.
In addition, the bill would:
. Mandate that group that employees be allowed to pay their share of premiums on a pretax basis;
. Allocate additional funds for cancer screenings at safety net clinics and rural health centers;
. Launch new efforts to increase enrollment of eligible children in programs for low-income families; and
. Increase the amount of time that workers can continue health coverage when changing jobs.
The House version would cost an estimated $10 million (Klepper, Wichita Eagle, 3/26).