Bipartisan Medicaid expansion agreement in N.C. spotlights divided issue in Kansas

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - A rare bipartisan agreement happened recently when Republicans joined Democrats in North Carolina to expand Medicaid. It’s something governor Laura Kelly is one again pushing for in Kansas.

The expansion in North Carolina provides coverage to more than 500,000 uninsured people. But, like in Kansas, the issue has been politically divided.

It could affect people such as Marcillene Dover, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis while a student at Wichita State. She was working two jobs while putting herself through college, but she fell into the KanCare coverage gap.

”I was really worried that I was not going to be able to afford my medication, I was worried I was not going to be able to go see a doctor,” Dover said. “There wasn’t anything I could afford in the healthcare market place and the only thing that I qualified that I could pay for at WSU with the student health insurance program was a catastrophic plan.”

She said Medicaid expansion would have given her coverage.

“It just was not something I was going to go without health insurance otherwise expansion would have fixed that for me,” Dover said.

According to the Kansas Health Institute, about seven in 10 expansion-eligible adults are working, like Dover was.

“I think it’s important that they know this is impacting everyday working individuals, the story that people are just looking for a handout is not accurate,” she said. “It’s people who are needing healthcare but aren’t receiving it.”

Dover said she hopes lawmakers can come together to help everyday Kansans.

“It saves lives to have health insurance,” Dover said. “You’re not just giving someone free money; it’s going to the doctor, something that everyone should be able to do.”

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