TOPEKA — Supporters of expanding Medicaid in Kansas have tried to reassure wary Republican lawmakers with a “poison pill” that would end an expansion if the federal government backed off promises to cover most of the cost.
But new Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s proposal this year dilutes the provision so that the state could continue expanded Medicaid health coverage with fewer federal dollars.
It’s a key difference from a bipartisan expansion plan approved by legislators in 2017 and vetoed by then-conservative GOP Gov. Sam Brownback.
Kelly has said her proposal is based on the 2017 legislation.
Documents obtained by The Associated Press through an open records request showed that an initial draft contained the 2017 poison pill. But Kelly’s advisers on Medicaid expansion suggested a change, and it was altered.
