Kansas Stories | Alliance for a Healthy Kansas

Kansas Stories: Alisha

Alisha is one of thousands of Kansans who rely on both Medicare and Medicaid to stay healthy and meet basic needs like housing and groceries. After a car collision about 20 years ago caused a traumatic brain injury and related health conditions, Alisha spent years in high-level care, unstable housing, and homelessness before moving back to Emporia about a year and a half ago.

Kansas Stories: Sue

Sue is one of thousands of Kansans who rely on Medicaid to survive. After multiple careers, Sue went back to school at age 51 at Friends University for her master’s degree, and later became a Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist. Now that Sue is retired, she lives in a peaceful, non-profit long-term care facility. If it were not for Medicaid, however, Sue says “she would not be able to live.”

Kansas Stories: Mary

Mary has spent her career as a lawyer working in cities across the country. She eventually settled in Overland Park, where she now focuses on housing and health law in a semi-retired role. Several members of Mary's family rely on Medicaid, including her grandson, his mother, and his other grandmother, who has a disability.

Kansas Stories: Jim & Nancy

For the past 15 years Jim and Nancy have run a small assisted living business that provides in-home care for seniors. As a small business they only employ a handful of staff. Because of their size they don't qualify for group health insurance rates. For Jim and Nancy, the Affordable Care Act has made their business model possible and allows them to care for their employees with dignity and stability. But with the enhanced tax credits expiring last year, their costs have gone up nearly $1,000 mor

Kansas Stories: Dawn

Dawn and her husband live in Edwardsville, Kansas, which they have called home since 1995. For most of their marriage, Dawn and her husband were self-employed. As small business owners, health care was always a concern. Around 2014, as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) rolled out, Dawn was one of the earliest enrollees to sign up for a Marketplace plan. That decision proved critical. In May 2017, Dawn received life altering news: a breast cancer diagnosis.

Kansas Stories: Sydney

October 2025 Sydney grew up in Derby but has lived in Wichita for the past five years. She has worked as a hairstylist and nail technician since 2017, specializing in vivid colors and bold cuts. Outside of her salon, she paints, fosters animals and helps local rescues. When she lost coverage under her father’s insurance […]

Kansas Stories: Eileen & Barry

After 15 years working as a government contractor for the Food and Drug Administration, Barry retired in June 2024. The budget for his contract was cut, and worsening health issues convinced him that returning to the workforce full-time wasn’t realistic. With Eileen on Medicare Advantage and Barry no longer receiving employer health benefits, they turned to the Affordable Care Act for coverage. Barry recalled his experience before the ACA vividly.

Kansas stories: Saturn

August 2025 Saturn* is autistic and lives in Southeast, Kansas. They work at a local library and love art, writing and cooking. Recently, with the support of Kansas’s Medicaid program, KanCare, they moved into their own apartment and have become more independent. But before access to Medicaid, things were very different. Saturn was covered under […]

Topics: Behavioral Health, Medicaid, Medical Debt Stories

Share Your Story