Sedgwick one of two counties to reject policies of Kansas Association of Counties

County commissioners from around the state voted Thursday to support specific policies in 2016 at the local, state and federal level. Seventy-four Kansas counties voted in favor of the policies, and two counties ‑ Sedgwick and Finney – cast dissenting votes.

Among the legislative topics in the Kansas Association of Counties’ 2016 policy statement were supporting Medicaid expansion, repealing the property tax lid and opposing any further sweeps of transportation funds.

For 2015, the association also supported expansion of Medicaid, the federal and state program that provides health care to low-income residents.

Nathan Eberline, associate legislative director and legal counsel for the Kansas Association of Counties, said the policy summary is put together by a legislative policy committee, which includes county commissioners and other elected and appointed officials.

Jim Howell, Sedgwick County commissioner, was designated to vote on behalf of the Sedgwick County Commission during the association’s conference Thursday.

“They’re too broad,” Howell said about the legislative priorities document. “They talk about way too much. You’re going to find a lot of things that people don’t agree with, and that’s exactly what’s wrong with this document.”

He said he didn’t think it was appropriate for the broad organization of the Kansas Association of Counties to take a stance on the issue of Medicaid expansion.

A draft version of Sedgwick County’s positions for legislative issues in 2016 does not specifically reference Medicaid expansion but does say the county “supports the state’s efforts to fight the implementation of the Affordable Health Care Act.”

Medicaid expansion is a central component of the Affordable Care Act, which reduced reimbursement rates with the intention that all states would expand Medicaid eligibility to cover more low-income residents. A Supreme Court decision then allowed each state to dictate its expansion.

This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 2:20 PM with the headline "Sedgwick one of two counties to reject policies of Kansas Association of Counties."