Topeka Capital-Journal: Gov. Laura Kelly expects Medicaid task force to quickly deliver expansion plan

During her State of the State address last week Governor Laura Kelly announced she would convene a task force to advance a plan for Kansas to expand Medicaid by Kansas Day. On Thursday she announced who would be serving on the working group.

Gov. Laura Kelly affirmed the administration’s expectation Thursday a new task force appointed to develop a plan for expanding Medicaid eligibility in Kansas will deliver by the end of January.

“We’re not reinventing the wheel,” Kelly said at the Capitol. “We plan to have something next week.”

Alliance Executive Director April Holman is one of Governor Kelly’s appointees to the task force.

“We’ve assembled a group of top-notch leaders who can help us develop a plan that is financially sustainable and meets the unique needs of Kansas patients, hospitals, providers and diverse communities,” the governor said.

The task force includes representatives of the Kansas Hospital Association, Community Care Network of Kansas, Wyandotte Health Foundation, Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, Association of Community Mental Health Centers, Kansas Medical Society, Sunflower Health Plan and Center for Law and Social Policy.

“The time to expand KanCare is now,” said April Holman, executive director of the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas. “All of us who support this effort are ready to put in the time and do the work it will require, including the thousands of Kansans who stand to gain access to health care.”

Read the Capital-Journal’s full coverage of the announcement on their website.