Kansas views on Medicaid expansion, veto override
Medicaid expansion – All that stood between 150,000 Kansans and health insurance was Gov. Sam Brownback, but he did not let that give him pause. He did not defer to the 82 percent of Kansans who now support Medicaid expansion. Nor did he give any fact-based reasons for quickly vetoing a bill that would save lives, save money and save rural hospitals in his state, which has lost out on $1.8 billion in federal aid since 2014 by refusing the help. Medicaid expansion is vitally important, and we hope lawmakers will stand up for the Kansans their governor remains so determined to deprive of insurance.
Imagine if all of the expansion proponents in Kansas – from hospital CEOs to lawmakers to citizens who are struggling to pay their medical bills – had been standing in front of Gov. Sam Brownback when he vetoed the Medicaid expansion bill. It would have been a stark reminder that our governor values his rigid ideology over the interests of the people he’s supposed to represent. It would have been a perfect demonstration of how harmful reckless leadership can be.
It’s time to expand KanCare. Let’s hope the Legislature can muster the handful of votes necessary to override the governor’s ill-advised veto.
All lawmakers who supported Medicaid expansion put common sense above politics. They acknowledged the folly of turning away nearly $2 million a day from the federal government, and need to help some 150,000 working-poor Kansans access health-care coverage.
This story was originally published April 3, 2017 at 5:05 AM with the headline "Kansas views on Medicaid expansion, veto override."