Aging group won’t back down on Medicare takeover

Some GOP state lawmakers are still pressuring the Johnson County Commission on Aging not to publish an article in a newsletter next month criticizing the state’s plan to assume control of Medicare. Several lawmakers criticized the article at a legislative breakfast last week. At a follow-up meeting Monday, several lawmakers – including House Speaker Ray Merrick, R-Stilwell – suggested that there could be a political price for publishing the article, the Kansas Health Institute News Service reported. “This is going to set you guys back,” Merrick told Dan Goodman, director of the Johnson County Area Agency on Aging. But the aging group’s leaders refuse to be intimidated and still plan to publish the article. Good for them. – Phillip Brownlee

This story was originally published September 18, 2014 at 12:14 PM with the headline "Aging group won’t back down on Medicare takeover."