Hutchinson News: Gov. Laura Kelly directs council to explore Medicaid expansion options

By Tim Carpenter | Sept. 4, 2019

Gov. Laura Kelly pressed ahead with a central campaign theme Wednesday by directing a council to study the Medicaid expansion experience of three dozen other states and prepare a best-practices outline for use during the 2020 session of the Kansas Legislature.

The 22-member council includes Rep. Jason Probst, Sen. Ed Berger, and Dave Kerr, former president of the Kansas Senate.

The Democratic governor proposed and the Republican-led House passed a bill broadening eligibility for Medicaid to about 130,000 Kansans, but the Senate leadership blocked all efforts to debate legislation in 2019. Republican Govs. Sam Brownback and Jeff Colyer successfully stalled consideration of Medicaid expansion from 2011 to 2019.