Kansas Child Uninsured Rate Climbs to 8.5%
Families with children under 19 in Kansas face a growing gap in coverage as Medicaid and CHIP enrollment shrinks.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Child Care
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The share of Kansas children without health insurance rose to 8.5% in 2025, the second straight year the state's child uninsured rate has run above the national average. Families across the state with children under 19 are affected as coverage through Medicaid and CHIP continues to shrink.
Why it matters
Kansas's child uninsured rate climbed from 5.2% in 2022 to 7% in 2024 and then to 8.5% in 2025, outpacing the national trend. Losing coverage affects when children get preventive checkups, vaccines and early treatment, and it can shift costs onto families.
The figures come from survey-based coverage estimates for children under 19 in Kansas and nationally, compared across 2022, 2024 and 2025. Kansas's rate also rose sharply for children under 6 (3.7% to 7.2% from 2022 to 2024) and for Hispanic and Black children, though the cause of each gap is not fully established.
The players
Kansas Health Institute
A Topeka-based nonprofit that conducts health policy research and publishes data on health coverage and access in Kansas.
The details
Families can lose children's coverage when they voluntarily disenroll from Medicaid or CHIP or never apply, and that trend accelerated after pandemic-era policies that automatically kept children enrolled ended. Some eligible families have also pulled children from coverage out of fear tied to aggressive immigration enforcement, while paperwork, confusion over work reporting requirements and federal program cuts have added friction. The reported gaps widened across groups: the uninsured rate for Hispanic children in Kansas rose from 8.6% in 2022 to 16.2% in 2024, and for Black children from 5.7% to 9.8%.
Timeline
2022: Kansas child uninsured rate stood at 5.2%.
2024: Kansas child uninsured rate rose to 7%, above the national average of 6%.
2025: Kansas child uninsured rate reached 8.5%, while the national rate rose to 6.2%.
First half of 2026: Preliminary data suggests Medicaid and CHIP enrollment continued falling.
Health Landscape
Kansas's child uninsured rate is climbing faster than the national rate, which itself rose after the end of pandemic-era policies that kept children continuously enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP. The state's trajectory places it among the places where coverage losses are concentrating, underscoring how program rules and enrollment friction shape children's access to routine care.
Families with children in Kansas may want to confirm their children's Medicaid or CHIP status and ask their pediatrician about any missed checkups or vaccines. Children under 6 and children in Hispanic and Black households saw the steepest rises, so those families should pay closest attention to enrollment renewals.
The takeaway
Child health coverage in Kansas has been eroding for several years, and the trend is larger than the national average. Parents who are unsure whether their children remain covered should check enrollment status and talk with their pediatrician about keeping preventive care on schedule.
Further reading
For more on how coverage shapes family routines, see the Child Care section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Kansas Reflector.
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