Every year she has been in office, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has tried to get lawmakers on board with her plan to expand Medicaid. And she’s trying again with the 2024 legislative session less than a month away.
The governor unveiled what she called a “middle-of-the-road” expansion plan Thursday which could add up to 50,000 residents to Medicaid if lawmakers approve. The goal is to add working residents who don’t get health insurance through their employers or don’t make enough to get private health insurance but still make too much to get Medicaid.
17th District Senator Jeff Longbine of Emporia has supported expansion before. He says the governor’s decision to add a work requirement may sway some Republicans who have not supported any form of expansion. Republican leadership? That may well be another story.
Besides the work requirement, other highlights of the Cutting Healthcare Costs for All Kansans Act plan, according to Governor Kelly, include:
*Federal money covering 90 percent of the total cost, with the state’s 10 percent covered by a hospital fee, drug rebates, savings from higher reimbursement rates for existing Medicaid patients and additional federal funds.
*A healthier workforce, as well as reduced state expenses on incarceration and other state services, will lead to more revenue and less pressure on local governments to increase property taxes as an offset for correctional healthcare costs.
Lawmakers begin the 2024 session Jan. 8.
