Things were supposed to be different on the Medicaid expansion this year.
Expansion advocates thought Democratic Gov. Laura Kellys election would elevate the issue to center stage. They figured that would all but guarantee that Kansas would join the ranks of expansion states now numbering 37 plus the District of Columbia.
But so far this legislative session its been déjà vu all over again.
Republican leaders havent budged in their opposition. Theyve launched social media campaigns against expansion. Blasted the governor for low-balling its cost. And refused to hold hearings on her expansion bill.
They havent even responded to a letter that Kelly sent respectfully asking them to schedule hearings.
Noting the recent closure of a few more rural hospitals, Kelly wrote that communities served by other struggling hospitals are counting on us to do something.
She sent the letter on Feb. 19. Shes still waiting for a response.
Sensing they couldnt avoid the issue entirely, GOP leaders OKd Rep. Brenda Landwehrs plan to hold a series of roundtable discussions on expansion to, as she puts it, get the facts out on the table.
Expansion advocates insist the facts are already well established and that they largely buttress their case. Even so, April Holman, the head of a coalition of advocacy groups lobbying for expansion, gave a politic answer when asked if she viewed Landwehrs roundtables as a delaying tactic.
Im going to take this at face value, Holman said.
Unable to completely hide her frustration, she said the timing was unfortunate.
We certainly would like to have seen this earlier in the year, she said.
Landwehr, the chair of the House Health and Human Services Committee, has booked three days for the discussions, starting Wednesday.
Going in, Landwehr said shes trying to keep an open mind. But she says that absent compelling evidence to the contrary, shes likely to oppose extending coverage to tens of thousands of low-income adults those making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, about $17,000 per year for a single person or $35,000 for a family of four.
Its not children, Landwehr said. Its not pregnant women or the disabled. A lot of them are able-bodied (adults). So, why arent they working?
