Emporia Gazette: Kelly talks Medicaid expansion during Emporia visit

By Ryann Brooks | Dec. 4, 2019

Governor Laura Kelly talked Medicaid expansion during a visit with area hospital administrators, health care professionals and local legislators at Newman Regional Health Tuesday afternoon.

Medicaid expansion, Kelly said, had been a high priority she encountered among prospective voters during the 2018 gubernatorial election, second only to education.

“I think most people believe that health care is a necessity; that everybody should have access to primary health care,” she said. “But I also think people began to understand the economic impact of Medicaid expansion and what it would do for their communities.”

For roughly six years, Kansans have heard about the potential impact an expansion of the Medicaid system could have on rural health care. With a poverty rate of more than 18 percent in Lyon County, Newman Regional Health has said it carries a balance of around $6 million in uncompensated services, between uninsured patients and charitable write-offs.

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