More Americans got health insurance during the pandemic, but not in Kansas

New Census data shows that more Americans have health insurance now than before the pandemic thanks to special federal programs. But not so in Kansas, where insurance rates dropped significantly below the U.S. average for the first time in decades.
WICHITA, Kansas — Federal pandemic programs that buoyed health insurance rates nationwide in 2021 didn’t ultimately lead to an increase in coverage in Kansas — meaning that, for the first time in decades, Kansans are significantly less likely to have health insurance than the U.S. population as a whole.

As millions of Americans lost jobs and with it their employer-based health insurance, the federal government enacted broad relief measures to help people access coverage. Those programs contributed to a marked drop in the rate of uninsured Americans in 2021 to match a prior record low of 8.6%, according to new data released this week by the Census Bureau.