TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Gov. Sam Brownback’s spokeswoman calls Medicaid expansion “morally reprehensible” in a recent email, signaling the administration has no plans to expand Medicaid and bring coverage to 150,000 uninsured Kansans.
The Wichita Eagle reports that in an email Tuesday to Brownback supporters, Melika Willoughby, Brownback’s deputy director of communications, says Brownback believes Medicaid expansion creates “new entitlements for able-bodied adults without dependents.”
The administration has often said it won’t expand Medicaid until it removes disabled Kansans already on Medicaid from a home services waiting list.
Critics say the waiting lists shouldn’t be used as an excuse to not expand Medicaid.
Willoughby’s email also comes as Kansas has been encouraging low-income state workers to sign their children up for the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program, possible through the Affordable Care Act.
