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Kansas Health Insurance Coverage Profile

Most Kansans, about 87 percent, are covered by private or public health insurance. In this section, we examine the specific sources of this coverage. Fifty-five percent of Kansans are privately-insured through an employer. Employer-sponsored insurance is the primary form of health insurance in Kansas, as it is nationwide.

Another 7 percent of Kansans are covered by other private insurance, primarily individual insurance policies that they purchase directly.

However, private health insurance is out of reach for some Kansans whose employers do not offer health benefits or who find insurance to be unaffordable. Public health insurance is an option for some of those who lack private insurance. For example, almost all seniors age 65 and older are covered by Medicare, and they comprise almost 13 percent of all Kansans.

But many adults age 19-64 -- even those with low incomes -- do not qualify for public programs. 12 percent of Kansans are covered by Medicaid or SCHIP, but most of these are children.

Approximately 12.5 percent of Kansans are uninsured, a percentage that has increased in the last two years.

Adults are more likely than the population as a whole to be covered by health insurance through an employer. But they are less likely to have public health insurance. Approximately 17.1 percent of adults in Kansas lack coverage.

Children are more likely to be insured than adults, in part because they are more likely to be eligible for public health insurance. Twenty-eight percent of all Kansas children are covered by Medicaid or SCHIP.

Major Trends

The percentage of Kansans covered by private health insurance was relatively stable until 2004-2005. Since then, it has dropped to 73.3 percent. This decline in private coverage is driven by a reduction in the percentage of Kansans covered by employer-sponsored health insurance. As private insurance coverage has declined, the percentage of Kansans who are uninsured has increased. In 2004-2005, about 10.5 percent of Kansans were uninsured. By 2006-2007, 12.5 percent lacked health insurance -- the highest point this decade.

While private insurance coverage has declined, the percentage of Kansans covered by public health insurance programs such as Medicare and Medicaid has not changed statistically since 2004-2005.

This explains, in part, the increase in the percentage of Kansans who are uninsured.

Coverage by Region:

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