The recently enacted American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) includes new large financial incentives for states to extend health insurance coverage to low-wage workers and other adults earning less than $17,775 a year. These incentives apply to regular spending in a state’s Medicaid program and offer a five-percentage point across the board increase in the federal share for a 24-month period after the state extends coverage. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that Kansas’s budget would see a net gain of $250 million over a two-year period if the state expanded Medicaid. Approximately 82,700 uninsured nonelderly adults, or 38 percent of the state’s uninsured adult population, would gain health insurance. This fact sheet examines which workers and industries would benefit from expansion of Medicaid coverage. The top three industry sectors in Kansas employing low-wage uninsured workers are hospitality, retail, and health care and social assistance, accounting for approximately 44 percent of those working without insurance (see Table 1). Restaurants and other food service establishments are the top employers for these workers. The most common occupational sector for low-wage, uninsured workers is food preparation and serving, followed by sales (see Table 2).
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