A new poll done for the Kansas Hospital Association shows that 60 percent of Kansans support expanding Medicaid to more low-income adults. Association CEO Tom Bell says that support increases to 70 percent when Kansans learn that saying “no” to expansion would cost the state $800 million in increased federal funding.
Hospitals are lobbying legislators and Governor Sam Brownback to approve the expansion, which is an optional part of the federal health reform law. Brownback – an opponent of the reform law – hasn’t made a decision on whether to expand the program next year. But the Kansas House will vote later this week on a resolution to put the Legislature on record against the expansion.