According to one Kansas House of Representatives member, the Kansas Legislature is unlikely to approve Medicaid expansion in 2021.
Sydney Carlin (D), 66th District representative, says changes to the legislature’s political makeup have made the outlook for expansion bleak.
“We lost two members and they took out all the moderates that we had that voted with us, so I don’t think we have the votes for Medicaid expansion,” Carlin said. “Some of the new members of the Republican Party might be inclined to do that, but I have not met them.”
Kansas is one of just a few Midwestern states that have not yet adopted Medicaid expansion.
Carlin says this trend is causing Kansas residents to move elsewhere.
“They need care and they can transfer and a lot of people working from home – they just go somewhere else,” Carlin said. “That’s not a good thing. Kansas needs its population to grow and we want to encourage that in every way.”
The Kansas Legislature, which consists of a 125-member House of Representatives and 40-member Senate, will convene for it’s annual session on Jan. 11.
