Lawmakers side with Brownback, not public

It is disheartening that the Kansas House failed by three votes Monday to override Gov. Sam Brownback’s veto of Medicaid expansion.

It’s also disappointing – but not surprising – that more than a dozen Wichita-area GOP lawmakers were among the 44 House members who voted to sustain Brownback’s veto. All but one of them have consistently opposed Medicaid expansion. Rep. Joe Seiwert, R-Pretty Prairie, said he supported expansion when he ran for re-election last November, yet he voted against the bill and the override attempt.

Expansion would have enabled about 150,000 low-income Kansans, most of whom are working, to obtain Medicaid coverage. It also would have greatly helped hospitals and other service providers.

Expansion also could have boosted the Kansas economy. A 2014 study estimated expansion could increase federal funding by $2.2 billion between 2016 and 2020. Kansas has already missed out on nearly $1.8 billion in federal funding since Jan. 1, 2014.

Medicaid expansion was backed by hospital and medical associations, safety-net clinics and groups that advocate for elderly, disabled and low-income Kansans. Faith-based organizations also support expansion, as do chambers of commerce throughout the state, including Wichita.

The public overwhelmingly supports expansion – 82 percent, according to a recent statewide survey.

A large, bipartisan majority of lawmakers also supported Medicaid expansion – 81 in the House and 25 in the Senate.

Yet in the end, none of that seemed to matter.

Brownback vetoed the bill, and too many lawmakers sided with him and not the public.

This story was originally published April 3, 2017 at 6:51 PM with the headline "Lawmakers side with Brownback, not public."