Rise in Kansas Children Without Health Insurance, 2022-2024

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Rise in Kansas Children Without Health Insurance, 2022-2024

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Key Points

• The uninsured rate for children in Kansas surged by more than a third between 2022 and 2024, rising from 5.1 percent to 7.0 percent.
• An estimated 51,284 children were uninsured in 2024 - 13,357 more than in 2022.
• The overall increase in the uninsured rate was not evenly distributed, and significant racial and ethnic disparities emerged. Hispanic children of any race and non-Hispanic Black children experienced the largest increases, with rates significantly higher than those of non-Hispanic White children.
• Uninsured rates nearly doubled among children under age 6, rising from 3.7 percent to 7.2 percent, compared with a one-fifth increase among children ages 6 to 18, from 5.8 percent to 7.0 percent.

Introduction

Between 2022 and 2024, the uninsured rate among Kansas children significantly increased from 5.1 percent to 7.0 percent, outpacing the national increase from 5.1 to 6.0 percent. This fact sheet dives deeper into those children most impacted by this increase in Kansas.

Several factors likely contributed to the increase in uninsured children in Kansas, including the end of pandemic-era continuous Medicaid enrollment, also known as the "unwinding" process, which occurred from March 2023 to May 2024. During unwinding, some children lost KanCare coverage and did not transition to other forms of health insurance coverage. Rising family plan premiums in employer-sponsored insurance and plans sold through the Kansas health insurance marketplace may also have made dependent coverage less affordable over the past decade.

Characteristics of Impacted Children

Between 2022 and 2024, the uninsured rate among Kansas children rose by just more than a third overall, but this increase was not evenly distributed. Within the children's population, the increase in uninsured rates varied by age group. Children under age 6 experienced a sharper rise in uninsured rates, nearly doubling from 3.7 percent to 7.2 percent. In comparison, rates among children ages 6 to 18 increased by about one-fifth, from 5.8 percent to 7.0 percent. This mirrors national trends for these age groups. However, Kansas had the largest relative increase in uninsured rates among children under age 6 among all states.

Racial and ethnic disparities were especially pronounced, with the uninsured rate among Hispanic children of any race increasing by a statistically significant 87.0 percent, from 8.6 percent to 16.2 percent. Although not statistically significant, the increase among non-Hispanic Black children was still notable at 72.7 percent, from 5.7 percent to 9.8 percent. In comparison, the uninsured rate among non-Hispanic White children rose by just 3.9 percent, from 3.9 to 4.1 percent.

Income also played a significant role. Children in families with incomes between 256 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) experienced the largest increase in uninsured rates, at 73.2 percent. This group may include children who lost Medicaid or Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage during the unwinding process but whose families still struggle to afford marketplace or employer-sponsored coverage. Children in families with incomes at or below 255 percent FPL experienced a statistically significant 44.6 percent increase in uninsured rates. In contrast, the uninsured rate among children in families with incomes above 400 percent FPL decreased slightly, suggesting that higher-income households were largely insulated from these losses. However, the decrease was not statistically significant.

Having a parent (or head of household) who was working did not shield children from coverage loss. Children with part-time working parents saw the sharpest rise in uninsured rates (70.2 percent increase), followed by children with full-time, year-round working parents (34.5 percent increase). Both increases were statistically significant. Children with unemployed parents saw the smallest increase in uninsured rates at 16.5 percent, which was not statistically significant.

Figure 1. Kansas Children Ages 0-18: Changes in Uninsured Rate by Characteristics, 2022 and 2024

Note: Percent change indicates the percent change in the uninsured rate between 2022 and 2024 for each category and is calculated by subtracting the 2022 uninsured rate from the 2024 uninsured rate and then dividing the difference by the 2022 uninsured rate.

Source: Kansas Health Institute analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau 2022 and 2024 American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample files.

Where Uninsured Rates Rose the Most

Looking across the state, changes varied widely, ranging from a 95 percent increase in Gove County to a 14.7 percent decrease in Hodgeman County.

The increase in uninsured rates was statistically significant in Butler, Gove, Kingman, Miami, Russell, Smith and Wyandotte counties, all of which experienced increases in the highest quintile. Wyandotte County had the highest increase in the number of uninsured children, increasing by 2,107 children between 2022 and 2024. There was no clear regional pattern in the changes. However, among county peer groups, Semi-Urban counties had the largest percentage increase at 39.8 percent, while Urban counties had the smallest at 26.3 percent. Increases among Densely-Settled Rural and Frontier counties were both 32.2 percent, followed by 28.0 percent among Rural counties.

Figure 2. Kansas Children Age 0-18: County Uninsured Rates and Counts, 2024

Note: Percent change indicates the percent change in the uninsured rate between 2022 and 2024 for each category and is calculated by subtracting the 2022 uninsured rate from the 2024 uninsured rate and then dividing the difference by the 2022 uninsured rate. The statewide uninsured rate differs between figures because Figure 1 uses ACS estimates, while this figure uses SAHIE, which relies on different methods and population definitions.

Source: Kansas Health Institute analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau 2022 and 2024 Small Area Health Insurance Estimates.

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