TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Administrators at some Kansas hospitals are asking state legislators to avoid making a formal statement about expanding Medicaid following the federal government’s overhaul of health care.
Kansas Hospital Association President Tom Bell testified Friday against a resolution declaring the Legislature’s opposition to expanding Medicaid.
The House Appropriations Committee had a hearing, and Chairman Marc Rhoades hopes to have a vote next week.
Republican Gov. Sam Brownback is a vocal critic of the federal health care law enacted in 2010 but has said he’ll leave a decision on expanding Medicaid to the GOP-dominated Legislature.
The federal government has committed to paying almost all costs associated with the expansion, but many Republicans doubt the promise. The resolution reflects those doubts.
Bell said hospital administrators view a statement against the expansion as premature.
