TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A new coalition is launching a campaign to get Kansas to expand its Medicaid program as encouraged by the federal government’s overhaul of health care.
The Kansas Medicaid Access Coalition planned a Tuesday morning news conference. The coalition includes more than 30 groups representing consumers, health care providers and religious organizations.
Medicaid provides health coverage for the needy and disabled. The 2010 federal health care law encourages states to expand their programs by promising to pay almost all of the cost.
But many members of the Republican-dominated Legislature opposed the federal overhaul championed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. GOP legislative leaders are skeptical the federal government will keep its funding promises.
A resolution declaring the Legislature’s opposition to expanding Medicaid is pending in the House.