Kansas Health Institute
TOPEKA — The number of uninsured children in Kansas increased significantly in 2024, even as the state's overall uninsured rate remained largely unchanged, according to the Annual Insurance Update 2026 released by the Kansas Health Institute.
The report provides a comprehensive look at health insurance coverage across the state, highlighting statewide and county-level trends, disparities among population groups and changes since implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
The report found that the uninsured rate for Kansas children increased from 5.3 percent in 2023 to 7.0 percent in 2024, representing more than 51,000 uninsured children statewide. The increase may reflect the completion of Medicaid eligibility renewals following the end of pandemic-era continuous coverage requirements, along with rising insurance premiums for family plans.
Overall, approximately 249,400 Kansans — or 8.5 percent of the state's population — were uninsured in 2024. While this rate remained similar to the historic low recorded in 2023, Kansas continued to have a higher uninsured rate than the national average of 8.2 percent and ranked 16th highest among all states and the District of Columbia.
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The report also highlights persistent disparities in insurance coverage. Hispanic Kansans were nearly four times more likely to be uninsured than non-Hispanic White Kansans, while Kansans with family incomes below the federal poverty level were nearly six times more likely to be uninsured than those with incomes above 400 percent of the federal poverty level.
"The Annual Insurance Update helps us understand not only how many Kansans have health insurance, but also which populations continue to experience barriers to coverage," said Kaci Cink, M.P.H., KHI senior analyst and lead author of the report. "Although overall coverage has remained relatively stable, the increase in uninsured children and the persistent disparities among racial, ethnic and income groups underscore the importance of continuing to monitor changes in health insurance coverage over time."
Employment-based insurance remained the most common source of coverage in Kansas, with 55.4 percent of Kansans receiving insurance through an employer. Nearly 30 percent of Kansans were covered through public programs such as Medicare, Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
County-level data for 2023 show substantial variation across Kansas. The uninsured rate among nonelderly adults ranged from 7.2 percent in Johnson County to 22.4 percent in Seward County, with generally higher uninsured rates concentrated in southwest Kansas.
More than half of uninsured nonelderly adults lived in just five counties: Douglas, Johnson, Sedgwick, Shawnee and Wyandotte.
The report also places Kansas within the national context. Before full implementation of the ACA, Kansas had an uninsured rate below the national average. By 2024, that advantage had disappeared, with Kansas maintaining a higher uninsured rate than the nation overall and a higher rate than states that have expanded Medicaid.