Children’s Mercy Excluded From 2027 Marketplace Networks

Health Insurance Hikes Strain Kansas Public Budgets

Falling Enrollment Drives Kansas School Cuts

Kansas Water Chief to Retire Amid Aquifer Dispute

Vance to Rally for Marshall in Topeka

Children’s Mercy Excluded From 2027 Marketplace Networks

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Children’s Mercy says none of the Affordable Care Act Marketplace plans serving the Kansas City area will include the hospital in their networks beginning Jan. 1, 2027, narrowing specialty-care options for families buying their own insurance. The change mainly stems from Medica leaving the Marketplace in Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas and several Missouri counties, affecting about 400 current Children’s Mercy patients covered by its plans. The hospital says other local Marketplace insurers already excluded it and declined contracts for 2027, calling the outcome “not a decision made by Children’s Mercy”; KCTV5 reported receiving only three general statements from the hospital, and the coverage did not explain insurers’ reasons. Families buying plans through HealthCare.gov, often with federal subsidies, could face higher bills or a need to change doctors when care is outside their plan’s network, and KSHB reported that one family’s 13-year-old son would lose coverage for cancer treatment at Children’s Mercy. The change does not affect Medicaid, Medicare, employer-sponsored insurance, TRICARE or other private coverage. Families choosing 2027 coverage this fall can contact their insurer or the Kansas Insurance Department about access to the regional children’s specialty hospital, which has locations on both sides of the state line.

KSHB · KCTV5 · FOX4

Health Insurance Hikes Strain Kansas Public Budgets

TOPEKA, Kan. — Rising health insurance costs are prompting Kansas local governments and school districts to consider using reserves, changing coverage and charging employees more, according to meeting reports in Citizen Journal’s meeting database. Ellis County received a proposed 18.31% increase from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas. Topeka Public Schools reported a 30% cost increase and discussed self-insuring, while Emporia schools approved an 11.5% increase and credited a recent move to partial self-funding with keeping it below market rates. Lawrence added a high-deductible plan and raised employee contributions to save more than $1 million. The choices affect taxpayer-supported budgets and employees’ take-home pay as public employers decide how much of the higher cost to absorb and how much to pass to workers.

Local meeting records

Falling Enrollment Drives Kansas School Cuts

DE SOTO, Kan. — Kansas schools have lost 15,296 students since 2019, according to a Kansas Association of School Boards analysis cited by KCTV5, as declining enrollment pushes districts to reconsider buildings, staffing and student programs. The association points to low birth rates and families leaving Kansas, while De Soto reports 149 fewer students and Olathe has lost 1,700 since 2019; Olathe’s board voted 7-0 on Oct. 1 to close six schools after the 2026-27 school year, according to meeting reports in Citizen Journal’s meeting database. Blue Valley shared its latest cuts with staff the week of Oct. 12; Superintendent Gillian Chapman says the Johnson County district cannot sustain deficit spending and is cutting about $17 million over two years, including $6.5 million already reduced and more than $10 million targeted for 2027-28. After starting with administrative reductions, Blue Valley plans fewer middle school activities and sports, elimination of low-enrollment classes and Chinese immersion, and a reduction by half in its contracted social workers. Chapman also cites state special-education aid falling short of the statutory 92% target since 2011: Blue Valley transferred $18.9 million from its general fund in fiscal 2026, and news reports estimate meeting the target would bring about $16.9 million more annually. The pressures extend to suburban schools as funding remains an issue in the governor’s race between Republican Ty Masterson and Democrat Cindy Holscher.

KCTV5 · KSHB · Johnson County Post

Kansas Water Chief to Retire Amid Aquifer Dispute

HAYS, Kan. — Kansas Department of Agriculture Chief Engineer Earl Lewis announced Oct. 20 that he will retire Nov. 20, 2026, leaving the state to select a new official to oversee water rights and groundwater conservation. Lewis heads the Division of Water Resources, administering Kansas water law, granting and enforcing water rights, and reviewing groundwater management districts’ plans for the Ogallala Aquifer. Lewis has twice rejected a southwest Kansas groundwater management district’s aquifer plan, leaving an unresolved dispute over conservation measures. His successor will inherit that dispute and decisions affecting how quickly western Kansas draws down the aquifer that supplies farms and towns.

Ad Astra Radio · KMAN · HPPR

Vance to Rally for Marshall in Topeka

TOPEKA, Kan. — Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to campaign for Republican Sen. Roger Marshall on Monday, Oct. 26, one week after President Donald Trump rallied for Marshall in Park City, the Kansas News Service reported. The visit will be Vance’s second Kansas stop in about six weeks, following a Sept. 14 appearance at Webco Manufacturing in Olathe focused on manufacturing jobs, immigration and public safety, where protesters were escorted out. Marshall faces Democrat Adam Hamilton, founding pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, and Libertarian David Graham; an InsiderAdvantage poll conducted Oct. 13-14 put Marshall at 48% and Hamilton at 47%, within its roughly 2.8-percentage-point margin of error. A Republican strategist told Politico the party believes the remaining undecided voters are Trump voters, according to the Kansas News Service, while Hamilton has said Trump voters have a place in his campaign. Kansas has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1932, and the race could help determine which party controls the chamber. Advance voting is underway for the Nov. 3 election.

Kansas News Service · KCTV5 · KSN

Sources

1. KSHB / KSHB / KCTV5 / FOX4 / FOX4
2. Ellis County meeting / Ellis County meeting / Emporia school board meeting / Topeka Public Schools meeting / Lawrence meeting
3. KSHB / KCTV5 / KCTV5 / KCTV5 / Johnson County Post / KCTV5
4. Ad Astra Radio / KMAN / HPPR
5. KCUR / KMUW / Kansas Public Radio / KCTV5 / KSN

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