(Jan. 26, 2023) – Today, the Senate Public Health and Welfare committee, chaired by Senator Beverly Gossage (R-Eudora), heard from Wyatt Beckman, Kansas Health Institute, on suicide rates and trends. Beckman emphasized Kansas is above the national average and is trending up with males being more impacted. The conferee highlighted impacts on rural communities, veterans, farmers and ranchers.

Linda Sheppard, KHI, updated the committee on plans available for 2022 Kansas insurance enrollment rates. She highlighted in Plan Year 2022, 107,784 Kansans selected or were automatically re-enrolled in a health insurance plan through the federally facilitated marketplace, an increase of 19,157 or 21.6 percent compared to 2021 enrollment.

The conferee highlighted plans offered on the exchange. In Kansas, 15.0 percent of Kansans enrolled in gold plan, which covers about 80 percent of health care expenses, 49.0 percent selected a silver plan, which covers 70 percent of health care expenses, and 35.7 percent selected bronze, which covers about 60 percent of health care expenses. Sheppard highlighted that 90.6 percent of Kansas enrollees received financial assistance through cost-sharing reductions.

It was reported that approximately one in five Kansas enrollees were able to pay premiums of $10 or less per month with the enhanced tax credits. Kansas enrollees with incomes between 100 and 250 percent of the federal poverty level ($26,500 to $66,250 for a family of four in 2021) were eligible for subsidies, which reduced out-of-pocket costs such as deductibles, copayments and co-insurance.

The Senate Committee also saw the introduction of bills dealing with the following topics:

• Naturopathic doctors' scope of practice
• Naturopathic doctors' corporate practice of medicine
• Massage therapy licensure
• Expanding nurse anesthetists' scope of practice

The committee is slated to meet on Monday, Jan. 30, for a presentation from The University of Kansas Cancer Center.