The rate of Kansas children without health insurance climbed in 2024 to its highest level in more than a decade, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. The share of uninsured children in Kansas rose from 5.6% in 2023 to 7% in 2024, the highest since 2013. The National rate is 6%. Overall, 18% of Kansans living below 138% of the Federal Poverty Level, the threshold to qualify for Medicaid eligibility in expansion states, were more likely to be uninsured than those with similar circumstances in the U.S. Nationwide and in Kansas, the uninsured rate among those living below 138% of the poverty level significantly increased in 2024.
Race seems to matter. Twenty two percent of Hispanic Kansans were uninsured, four times the rate of non Hispanic. Among Black or African American Kansans, the uninsured rate was 11.4%t, nearly two times higher than that of non-Hispanic White Kansans. Rising rates, restrictions and lack of access to health care are cited as three of the top reasons why.
