What we’re watching: August 2025 local and federal policy update

At Health Forward Foundation, we’re committed to providing timely updates on key local and federal policy developments that impact the health and well-being of our communities. This resource is designed to help our advocacy partners in and around Kansas City stay connected to the issues, opportunities, and decisions shaping our region — so we can continue working together toward a more just and equitable health outcomes.

Much has occurred in local and federal policy making since our last update in early June.

In our Kansas service area

Wyandotte County 

• Budget talks are underway with the County Commission working toward approving the budget on Aug. 28. There have been several “Dotte Talk Community Conversations” about the budget for residents to voice their needs and recommendations for how budget dollars are spent. On Aug. 7, the County Administrator presented the proposed 2026 City and County Budgets to the County Commission. A public hearing on the budget is set for Aug. 26 from 5 – 7pm, by which time the budget will essentially be set. The hearing will provide an opportunity for residents to learn what will be in the budget.
• At the end of June, the County Commission was presented with an update on housing trends during which the case was made for pre-approved building plans to streamline the process and the allowance of modular and pre-fab homes as options to reduce construction costs and lead to the availability of more quality and affordable housing in the county. The Wyandotte County Community Benefits Advisory Committee discussed a grant proposal from the County Clerk to fund a Community Benefits Homes for Generations program. The program will help address issues that arise when the title does not list the current homeowner, such as after the passing of the previous owner who is listed on the title. Correcting this issue will enable homeowners to be able to access benefits and support for homeownership. The Committee also considered a proposal to fund a pilot project to address abandoned homes and turn them into affordable housing. Access to affordable homeownership and safe housing is linked with improved economic and physical health and well-being.
• The Wyandotte County Board of Health recently provided an update on its 5-year Community Health Improvement Plan. Their findings suggest that employment, income, and affordable housing are the biggest barriers to health in the county. And community violence is the biggest health concern – with mental health and substance misuse service provision and availability being closely related to the prevalence of violence in the county. These are common challenges in urban areas lending to the health disparities we often see in these communities and informing Health Forward’s strategies in People and in Place.
• On Aug. 5, Wyandotte County held a primary election for Mayor and three of four County Commission seats. The two candidates who received the most votes for Mayor, Rose Mulvaney Henry and Cristal Watson, will face off in the general election in November.

Allen County

• The County Commission all but denied a funding request for $167,000 made by the Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center which provides services to people who lack insurance and do not qualify for Medicaid. Instead, the Commission approved only $1 in funding for the Mental Health Center. This budget cut comes as safety net providers face potential financial burdens due to changes to Medicaid resulting in increasing numbers of people without health insurance.
• In Iola, a member of the City Council has proposed that the city should discontinue voting wards for future city elections and instead, all candidates for office would be chosen at-large. These changes have the potential to dilute the voting power of already underrepresented populations in the community and often lose sight of the differing needs and personal experiences across a municipality, resulting in policies that do not reflect differing concerns in certain neighborhoods or communities. City-wide majorities would effectively be able to elect all representatives, leaving other groups unrepresented.

Johnson County

• The Board of County Commissioners voted to approve new district boundaries at its July 24 meeting. Redistricting meetings were held in early July for each of the county’s six county commission districts. Redistricting is necessary due to population shifts shown in the last census data. Many factors come into play when redistricting – so that district lines are drawn in ways that ensure fair and equal representation in the districts, and in consideration of maintaining population balance, logical configurations, maintenance of voting districts, and keeping existing cities intact. Generally speaking, the redistricting process can raise concerns about preventing racial discrimination and partisan gerrymandering. At the meetings, public input was sought on the proposed maps to help ensure the lines are drawn with community interests and makeup in mind. A recording of the virtual public engagement session can be found on the county’s website, as can the maps.
• Johnson County is holding a public budget hearing on Aug. 20 at 6 p.m. This gives the community a chance to formally comment on the proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 before the County Commission takes the budget up for adoption on Aug. 28. The county will also hold a revenue neutral rate hearing at the same meeting. Johnson County residents should have received an estimated tax notice from the county with more information about their estimated property taxes.
• Recently, the Johnson County Commission moved the proposed public safety sales tax election from November 2025 to March 2026 due to a challenge by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach. The challenge is due in part to the county commission’s proposal to use a portion of the sales tax revenue for services like mental health crisis intervention and emergency services. In the meantime, the commission is working to determine the legality of the public safety sales tax proposal. The proposal was designed based on feedback received from Johnson County residents highlighting the need for investment in public safety, including for critical mental health services to support the health and well-being of the community.
• The Johnson County Department of Health and Environment also released its 2023-2024 Community Health Assessment earlier this year, which is available on the county website. Three in ten residents report that they worry about their finances – a factor that affects housing, food security, and health. Given the assessment, Johnson County’s 2025-2029 community health improvement plan will focus on 4 key priorities – affordable housing, jobs with livable wages, affordable mental health treatment, and access to health insurance coverage.

In our Missouri service area

KCMO/Jackson County

• The City of Kansas City, Missouri recently held an application process for Round 5 Affordable Housing Trust Fund dollars. The Affordable Housing Trust fund is a city wide fund to promote, preserve and create long term affordable housing for households earning extremely low, very low and moderately low incomes. Affordable housing remains out of reach for many in the region due to increased housing costs and a shortage of affordable housing supply. The application period for available dollars closed June 20.
• The City Council also passed Ordinance Number 250491 in June, removing government assistance payments such as Housing Choice Vouchers as sources of income for housing purposes. Also in June, the city council unanimously passed Resolution 250413, paving the way for a $500 million investment over ten years toward the implementation of the Prospect Corridor transit-oriented development strategic plan and establishing a corridor manager to steward the development process. The plan centers community and equity in its implementation. Health Forward is excited about this development, as the Prospect Corridor will be the location of our new office building that is currently under construction.
• In July, the City Council passed Ordinance number 250600, adopting the Comprehensive Anti-Displacement Plan and directing the City Manager to establish an Anti-Displacement Commission. The commission will be tasked with developing and implementing anti-displacement strategies, including developing a strategic plan for the production and preservation of affordable housing units. During the same meeting, the City Council passed Resolution 25061, instructing the City Manager to develop a plan to ensure compliance with the Affordable Housing Set Aside requirement that developers must comply with to receive funds from the city’s Housing Trust Fund.
• In Jackson County, Missouri, the County Assessor has launched a Public Property Access Portal to improve public access to property information for residential and commercial properties across the county. The aim is to make assessment information more accessible. County Commissioners also passed an Ordinance 5987 recently, reclassifying short term rentals previously classified as commercial property as residential for assessment purposes.

Cass County

• In Cass County, the delinquent tax sale auction will take place Aug. 25 at 10 a.m. at the Harrisonville County Courthouse. Individuals interested in purchasing a property in the sale can register to participate between July 14 and Aug. 22. Delinquent tax sale auctions allow people to purchase property at a low price and lead to the revitalization of neglected and vacant properties​. On the other hand, these properties may be up for sale due to the owner’s inability to keep up with rising property taxes, with the forfeiture of the property resulting in loss of equity and intergenerational wealth. Seniors and others living on a fixed income, individuals who are economically disadvantaged, and those living in areas experiencing gentrification are at an increased risk of being priced out of their homes due to increased property taxes.

On the Federal level

Much of our attention has been on what proponents have been calling the Big Beautiful Bill that in fact and in practice, will be harmful and ugly to the communities we serve. While some changes were made to the bill since our last update, such as the addition of a temporary $500 million rural hospital fund and the removal of cuts to the federal Medicaid match. Other changes to Medicaid, Marketplace insurance, and SNAP remain. Medicaid work requirements remain. Rural hospitals are still likely to close as the funding is insufficient to support struggling rural hospitals across the nation. And state governments will now be responsible for covering the expenses of the SNAP food assistance program.

As a result, tens to hundreds of thousands of Kansans and Missourians who qualify for Medicaid and SNAP face losing these benefits either due to already constrained state budgets’ inability to fund them or the administrative error that has been the common result when new and heightened administrative burdens are put into place.

Senator Hawley introduced legislation to double the federal government’s investment in the Rural Health Transformation Fund and to repeal changes made to the state provider tax and state directed payments. Hospitals, especially rural hospitals and other hospitals in areas of low-access, rely on these funds to stay in operation and provide services to the community.

Our focus—shared by many think tanks and social service organizations in our region and beyond—will be to better understand the impacts of the bill in order to inform state and local policy and procedural changes, as well as to guide the practices and service offerings of health care and social service providers facing new and heightened budget shortfalls.

Additionally, Redistricting has been a conversation across the nation as several states consider redrawing congressional maps several years earlier than normal. Congressional District 5 in Missouri, currently held by Representative Cleaver, has been mentioned as a district of interest in these redistricting efforts – likely further splitting the Kansas City area from two districts into three districts. Such a map raises concerns about racial discrimination and potentially diluting the power of communities of color and other already excluded communities in the Kansas City area.