TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly is calling on the Senate to take a vote on Medicaid expansion and she says it needs to happen this week.
At a news conference Tuesday morning, she chided Senate leaders for dragging their feet. She says her proposal, passed by the House March 21, is very similar to a plan that passed the legislature in 2017 with strong bipartisan support. Kelly expressed her frustration saying that as the regular session is winding down, “halfway there isn’t good enough.”
The time for blocking progress has long since passed. Now is the time for a vote in the Senate on Medicaid expansion. #ksleg pic.twitter.com/vfQGWQzRYP
— Governor Laura Kelly (@GovLauraKelly) April 2, 2019
Kelly said Kansas is losing out on $3.2 billion in federal funds which she said could help reduce the poverty rate, spur economic growth, ensure a healthier and insured population and bring about a significantly lower level of uncompensated care for health facilities.
Senate President Susan Wagle (R-Wichita) disagrees with the governor and noted the Medicaid expansion debate is fueling an entitlement crisis, bankrupting states across the nation. She says potential cuts to federal funding could put Kansas at risk for a budget crisis.
@GovLauraKelly is pushing for a socialist, Bernie Sanders-endorsed health care plan. Medicaid needs reform, not expansion. We cannot surrender to the mess of Obamacare in Kansas. #ksleg pic.twitter.com/i0bJb3sOVm
— Susan Wagle (@SenatorWagle) April 2, 2019
Lt. Governor Lynn Rogers is traveling to Manhattan today for the Governor’s Public Health Conference and will join News Radio KMAN’s In Focus at 9 a.m.
