(Mar. 1, 2024) – A new poll released last week by the Sunflower Foundation re-affirms previous polls from the last several years that Kansans widely support Medicaid expansion and highlights most Kansans value the economic benefits expansion brings.
Some of the highlights of the study include:
- Eighty-three percent of small business owners support Medicaid expansion, especially after hearing it will create thousands of new jobs and keep the Kansas economy thriving;
- Sixty-eight percent of registered voters initially supported Medicaid expansion, though after being provided with information about how it would affect Kansas, support rose to 78 percent;
- Eighty-two percent of registered voters agreed that seeing 100,000 additional Kansans get access to affordable health care was a compelling reason to expand Medicaid.
Additionally, the poll showed most agreed that Medicaid expansion should be decided by voters rather than the Kansas Legislature: 77 percent of registered voters and 73 percent of primary Republican voters.
The more Kansas hospitals and other supporters can educate legislators and the public about the benefits of expansion, the more support it gains. More information and resources can be found at the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas.
--Cindy Samuelson