Huelskamp Praises Launch of KanCare

December 7, 2012

Huelskamp Praises Launch of KanCare

(DODGE CITY, KAN.) -- This afternoon, the State of Kansas announced that the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) determined the KanCare Medicaid program to be ready for a January 1, 2013 launch date. KanCare has partnered with three health plans to provide Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) services. Congressman Tim Huelskamp, who was a leading Medicaid reformer while in the Kansas State Senate and who has introduced HR 4160 – The State Health Flexibility Act in the U.S. House of Representatives to target and transform Medicaid to a block grant program, praised the announcement from CMS:

"I am very pleased by CMS' announcement that KanCare will begin next year. During my time in the Kansas State Senate, I served on the Task Force on Medicaid Reform, and I am thrilled to see many of our recommendations and discussion items finally being enacted. Today's announcement caps ten years of my efforts to bring high-quality health care reforms to the people of Kansas. I commend Governor Brownback and Lieutenant Governor Colyer for proactively developing a Medicaid plan to improve patient care and health outcomes while simultaneously reducing costs. It is my hope that reforms like KanCare can be implemented throughout the United States by reforming Medicaid into a block grant program that allows states greater flexibility and opportunity for innovation."

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