TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A bill permitting Kansas to join an interstate compact to end federal rules for health care programs has received first-round approval in the state House.
The measure advanced on an unrecorded 80-37 vote Tuesday. The bill is expected to pass on final action Wednesday and go to the Senate.
It’s a protest from the Republican-dominated Legislature against health care policies championed by Democratic President Barack Obama.
Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas have already enacted similar laws encouraging a compact, which would then let states run programs like Medicaid and Medicare as they see fit. The federal government sets rules for the programs for the needy and elderly and provides much of the funding.
But the measure is largely symbolic for now, because Congress would have to approve the compact.
