Must-Read: Andy Taylor: Failure To Expand Medicaid Adds To Stresses In Southeast Kansas County

Andy Taylor: Failure To Expand Medicaid Adds To Stresses In Southeast Kansas County:

Dr. Julie Stewart doesn’t want political candidates and elected officials to show up at her nonprofit medical clinic in Coffeyville for photo opportunities, grant announcements or organized tours.

Instead, the Coffeyville physician would like those officials to take a personal interest in the patients who have chosen Stewart’s Community Health Clinic of Southeast Kansas because they have no health insurance options.

“I want you to come help me take off their socks so you can see the sores of a diabetic patient who has no health insurance,” Stewart said. “And then I want you to get on the ground in front of them and wash their feet.”

Such medical procedures are more than commonplace for Stewart. In Coffeyville, medical providers and clinics have seen an increase in traffic since the October 2015 closure of Mercy Hospital in nearby Independence, Kansas…. After Mercy Hospital’s closure, Independence and the surrounding area have become ground zero for the debate over Medicaid expansion and what it means for rural health care…. 31 states and the District of Columbia have expanded Medicaid eligibility to adults earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level…. Kansas is one of 19 states that have not expanded eligibility for Medicaid…. In Kansas, only adults with dependent children are eligible for KanCare, the state’s privatized Medicaid program, and then only if their annual incomes are below 28 percent of the poverty level, which for a family of four is $9,216….

Sheldon Weisgrau, of the Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved in Topeka, said…. “At $4,229 per person per year… Medicaid expansion would have brought $5.9 million to Montgomery County”… 38 medical jobs…. Mark Woodring, CEO of Coffeyville Regional Medical Center, said the hospital continues to be challenged by the growing tide of uninsured persons who use its emergency room for medical care. It is the only hospital in Montgomery County. Additionally, the hospital only receives about 20 cents on every $1…. “Tell me any other business that is guaranteed a loss of 80 cents on the dollar while dealing with more patients and surrounded by more needs,” Woodring said…. Weisgrau encouraged Kansas residents to take their concerns to elected officials…