Davids, Clyburn Celebrate New Postpartum Medicaid Coverage, Push for Further Expansion

KANSAS CITY, KS – Today, Representative Sharice Davids hosted Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (SC-06) in the Kansas Third District to tour a local health clinic and discuss their efforts to close the Medicaid coverage gap in their states. Kansas and South Carolina remain two of only 12 states where the state legislatures have repeatedly blocked Medicaid expansion despite federal incentives that would make it essentially free to do so.

Davids successfully fought to include increased financial incentives for Medicaid expansion in the American Rescue Plan, which became law in March of this year. Under those incentives, Medicaid expansion in Kansas would be completely paid for through the first two years, after which the federal government would continue to cover 90% of the cost. Kansas was also recently approved to use American Rescue Plan funds to expand Medicaid coverage for postpartum mothers—coverage that previously ended just two months after giving birth.

"Today, Whip Clyburn got a glimpse of the amazing folks working daily to care for our community and advocate for Medicaid expansion. He knows as well as I do that this is a worthwhile fight," said Davids. "Last year we passed financial incentives that make it essentially free for Kansas to expand Medicaid, and we just recently announced federally-funded coverage for new moms. These are encouraging steps and we will continue to push for full expansion for the 165,000 Kansans and 345,000 South Carolinians that need this coverage."

"I'm on a mission to make America's greatness affordable and accessible for all of her citizens and I'm fortunate to have a partner like Rep. Davids who shares this vision," said Majority Whip Jim Clyburn. "Expanding Medicaid would have a huge impact in the communities we represent and would make healthcare affordable and accessible for many. We need public servants like Rep. Davids working in Congress to get this done."

"We see patients regularly that have avoided health care because of fear of cost. People that fall in the Medicaid gap that really should see one of our medical, dental or behavioral health providers or they need access to our pharmacy but the delay in care has long term consequences," said Patrick Sallee, President & CEO of Vibrant Health.

One option to cover the more than 4 million Americans left vulnerable by states' inaction is the Medicaid Saves Lives Act. Both Davids and Clyburn have co-sponsored this legislation, which would create a federal Medicaid-style program to extend coverage eligibility to all individuals under 138% of the Federal Poverty Level, establishing a permanent solution for the failure of non-expansion states like Kansas to extend the program. As Congress already paid for Medicaid expansion in the Affordable Care Act, this federal Medicaid program should require no additional offsets.

Research confirms that Medicaid expansion increases access to care, improves financial security, and leads to better health outcomes, and failure to expand Medicaid disproportionately affects people of color, as 60% of people in the coverage gap are Black, Hispanic, Asian, or Pacific Islander. Additionally, a recent report found that Kansas could increase its economic output by $17 billion and add an estimated 23,000 new jobs if the state chose to expand Medicaid.