Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Kansas Governor Vetoes Medicaid Expansion Bill, Saying Cost Is 'Irresponsible And Unsustainable'
Gov. Sam Brownback of Kansas vetoed a bill on Thursday that would have expanded Medicaid in his state, setting up a potential showdown next week with a Legislature that, while heavily Republican, has come to favor extending the largely free health coverage to as many as 180,000 additional poor adults. Although the bill was easily approved in both chambers of the Legislature, supporters would need to muster three additional votes in the House and two in the Senate to override the veto by Mr. Brownback, a conservative Republican. (Goodnough and Smith, 3/30)
The action by Mr. Brownback, who has been a staunch opponent of the law known as Obamacare, was expected. 鈥淚t fails to serve the truly vulnerable before the able-bodied, lacks work requirements to help able-bodied Kansans escape poverty, and burdens the state budget with unrestrainable entitlement costs,鈥 the governor said in a statement. (Levitz, 3/30)
The Legislature鈥檚 vote to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, received national attention both because Kansas is a solidly Republican-leaning state and because the state Senate鈥檚 vote took place shortly after congressional Republicans abandoned a plan that would have repealed the ACA and blocked states from expanding Medicaid after March 1. (Lowry and Woodall, 3/30)
Just more than an hour after the governor鈥檚 veto announcement, members of the Kansas House began a contentious, emotional debate on whether they should override the veto. Rep. Susan Concannon, a Beloit Republican, said legislators shouldn鈥檛 let concerns about possible changes at the federal level to the Affordable Care Act stop them from expanding KanCare. 鈥淚f this isn鈥檛 the right time, when is the right time? Are we going to wait for some more hospitals to close?鈥 asked Concannon, referring to the closure of a hospital in Independence. (Wingerter and Koranda, 3/30)
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback on Thursday vetoed a state bill that would have set the stage for an expansion of Medicaid, saying he wanted to incorporate a work requirement and opposed funding for Planned Parenthood.聽Brownback, a Republican, opposes abortion, which is among the services Planned Parenthood provides. Brownback also cited concerns about the cost of the proposed Medicaid expansion in his veto statement. Brownback, who represented Kansas in the House and Senate, also cited the potential for a GOP overhaul of the 2010 health law (PL 111-148, PL 111-152)聽among his reasons for rejecting the state bill. (Young, 3/30)
