Kansas Health Reform Bill Includes Funding For Physician Training Program

Main Category: Medical Students / Training
Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance;  Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Article Date: 08 May 2008 - 12:00 PDT

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Kansas lawmakers on Saturday approved a health care reform package that seeks to expand health care access, the Wichita Eagle reports.

The bill would:

• Expand SCHIP eligibility;
  
  
• Require insurance companies to offer more health plans that can be paid for on a pre-tax basis;
  
  
• Direct more money toward programs for low-income pregnant women and safety net clinics; and
  
  
• Extend the amount of time individuals are eligible to receive COBRA insurance in between jobs.

The bill did not appropriate the $6 million required to fund those provisions, and as a result, such funding must be included in the wrap-up budget, according to the Eagle.

The package does include $1.5 million to fund a program that offers specialized training to area physicians at the Wichita Center for Graduate Medical Education, a consortium that coordinates the residency programs in Wichita and Salina for the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita (Koranda/Klepper, Wichita Eagle, 5/4).

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