A bill that could eventually exempt Kansas from new federal health care regulations has been getting a hearing at the Statehouse. The measure would add Kansas to a health care compact that wants to replace federal programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, with block grants to the states. Once 20 states sign on, Congress would be asked to approve the agreement. Rep. Jim Denning, an Overland Park Republican, is the bill’s main sponsor.
The bill, which is now in the House Health and Human Services Committee, is identical to one introduced by conservative Republicans across the country as a way to nullify the new federal health care law. Denning says the overall goal is to take power away from what he calls a dysfunctional federal government and give it to the states.
