The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, or ACS CAN, is touting a poll of 500 Kansans that suggests voters would prefer that the state expand Medicaid. KCUR, a Kansas City public radio station, is touting the poll’s results.
Of interest, KCUR recently absorbed the Kansas Health Institute (KHI) news service.
The ACS CAN press release does not include a link to the poll’s specific questions. However, the release infers that Kansas has forfeited federal funding by forgoing KanCare expansion and that cancer treatments would be more effective with that expansion.
The release reads: “It is clear that Kansans want to take care of their neighbors. Of the 82 percent who said they favor expansion, 60 percent of voters said they strongly favored it. There are 150,000 hardworking Kansans who could benefit from expanding KanCare. Cancer is now the No. 1 cause of death in our state, and it is estimated that there will be 14,400 new diagnoses just this year. KanCare provides preventative screenings, diagnostic testing and cancer treatment services; these life-saving measures should be accessible to everyone in Kansas.”
The release continues: “Kansas has forfeited more than $1.6 billion in federal funds since 2014–real money that can help people get and stay healthy. The time has come for the Kansas Legislature to expand Medicaid so that our hardworking neighbors can access life-saving care.”
Medicaid funding encourages irresponsible state spending. For example, the state of New York has overcharged the federal government billions of dollars in Medicaid reimbursements for the developmentally disabled. In North Carolina, a state audit showed that the state’s Medicaid program overspent its budget by $1.4 billion in three years.
The push to expand KanCare in the Sunflower State is on, and this poll, taken in mid-December, is part of the advocacy for expansion.
