The Kansas House Health and Human Services Committee will start working on a bill to possibly expand Medicaid access after Wednesday’s hearings on Governor Laura Kelly’s expansion plan.
Committee Chair Brenda Landwehr says work on House Bill 2556 could start as soon as Thursday.
It was the first time in four years lawmakers had officially heard the governor’s plans in a committee setting, with the House Health and Human Services testimony preceded by a joint hearing in front of the Senate Ways and Means and Public Health and Welfare committees.
The governor has said expanding Medicaid will provide healthcare access to about 50,000 people who currently don’t qualify for Medicaid but can’t afford health insurance. She also says this could help struggling rural hospitals, most of which are at risk of closing, according to a report from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform.
Critics have said expansion will cover “able-bodied” residents and the federal government could reduce or eliminate its funding support at any time. As of now, the federal government has promised a 90-percent funding match for states expanding Medicaid access.
