Survey: Public not OK with Medicaid cuts, Brownback and Legislature

One health association hopes to use a new Kansas survey to build support for reversing recent cuts to Medicaid reimbursement rates.

Gov. Sam Brownback cut Medicaid reimbursements by 4 percent for certain providers and up to 4.5 percent for nursing homes July 1.

The Kansas Health Care Association, which represents health organizations, commissioned an online survey about attitudes from Kansans toward various health care-related issues, including the Medicaid cuts.

The results showed overall disapproval — of the Medicaid cuts, as well as the performance of Gov. Sam Brownback and the Legislature. Members of the group plan to travel the state in late October, just before the November elections, to talk with voters and candidates about the cuts.

“We understand people are concerned when they hear about possible closure of hospitals and other care facilities,” Eileen Hawley, spokeswoman for Brownback, said in an e-mail statement.

In the statement, she went on to credit Brownback for proposing a solution in mid-August, to eliminate the cuts if the Legislature increases the state’s provider tax, a fee on hospitals, during the 2017 session.

However, members of the association complained that Brownback is wanting to tax the providers he’s proposing to help.

Cindy Luxem, CEO and president of the Kansas Health Care Association and Kansas Center for Assisted Living, said although she’s glad to see the governor changing direction, she doesn’t absolve him of responsibility for the problem.

“This is very harmful in the here and now,” she said. “Right now we’re dealing with cuts. ... The governor is the one that put us in this predicament, so that is fine that he can say that, but he’s the one that put us here.”

Some survey highlights

An east coast polling firm conducted the online survey in July. Eight hundred people who identified themselves as registered Kansans voters answered the questions. Registered Republicans accounted for about 45 percent of those surveyed, Democrats accounted for about 25 percent and Independents accounted for about 31 percent.

Two out of every five respondents said they were affected in some way by Medicaid cuts.

Among the results:

▪ More than half of the respondents said they “strongly disapprove” of Brownback’s performance as governor, and another 18 percent said they somewhat disapprove.

▪ More than half said if their legislator voted to cut Medicaid payments to nursing homes and skilled nursing centers, they would be less likely to vote to re-elect that legislator. One-fifth said they were indifferent.

▪ Almost half also opposed raising taxes.

“How on Earth are you going to pay?” Rep. Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita who chairs the KanCare Oversight Committee, asked rhetorically. “You have to get the funding somewhere.

“Are you going to rob Peter to pay Paul? Are you going to take money from schools?”

Hawkins said he hopes to reverse the state’s tax cut enacted in 2012 that exempted owners of 330,000 business from paying income tax on profits.

▪ In July, the time of the survey, 41 percent said they would vote for Donald Trump in the presidential election if it were held that day. One-third of those voters said they were undecided and another third said they would vote for Hillary Clinton.

Hawkins said that he suspects that health care issues played less of a role in the primary election than education funding, which caused lawmakers to convene a special session after the Kansas Supreme Court found funding inequitable.

But he said health issues might gain traction leading into November.

“I think coming into the general election, health care is going to be an issue talked about a lot and is going to be an issue that could make a difference for some people that may not be supporting rolling back the cuts,” Hawkins said.

This story was originally published August 30, 2016 at 6:39 AM with the headline "Survey: Public not OK with Medicaid cuts, Brownback and Legislature."