On Oct. 20, a Kansas mother named Kasey Jackson learned that Children’s Mercy, the Kansas City hospital treating her 13-year-old son’s leukemia, would not be in-network with any Affordable Care Act Marketplace plan in 2027. By Nov. 10, the hospital had announced it would be in-network with UnitedHealthcare’s Marketplace plans starting Jan. 1, according to KCTV5. Three other carriers are still outside the hospital’s network, and a Dec. 15 enrollment deadline is close.
Oct. 20: An Instagram Video From a Worried Mom
Jackson and her husband, Tim, are self-employed and rely on the ACA Marketplace for health insurance, KCTV5 reported. Their son, Elijah, 13, is being treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia at Children’s Mercy.
On Oct. 20, Jackson posted an Instagram video about her frustration after learning the hospital would be out of network for every Marketplace plan in 2027. She told the station she felt she was yelling into a void, and that she faced online backlash for speaking out, which she called difficult.
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow, and the National Cancer Institute calls it the most common type of cancer in children. Treatment runs in phases, starting with an induction phase meant to bring the leukemia into remission, followed by consolidation and a maintenance phase.
Oct. 21 to Oct. 22: Hospital, Insurer and State Reactions
In an Oct. 22 statement, reported by KCTV5, Children’s Mercy said about 400 patients in Kansas and Missouri could lose coverage because Medica was leaving the Kansas City-area Marketplace. The Medica exit affected Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas and Clay, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Platte and Ray counties in Missouri. The hospital added that other area ACA plans were already out of network and had elected not to contract with it for 2027. Families would stay in-network through the end of 2026, the hospital said, and Medicaid, Medicare, employer plans and TRICARE were not affected…