Committees in the Kansas House and Senate have introduced a Medicaid expansion bill modeled after one approved by Indiana’s conservative Republican governor and legislature. The Kansas proposal is designed to appeal to the Republicans who control the state legislature. It would require the people expected to gain coverage...approximately 150,000 of them...to help pay for the benefit. The proposed plan would also cancel coverage for those who fall behind in their payments. Tom Bell is president of the Kansas Hospital Association. He says his members understand they’re facing an uphill battle.
Bell says that over the last three years, hospitals and other providers in Kansas have lost out on nearly $950 million in federal funds due to the state’s rejection of Medicaid expansion.
