Category: Gov. Laura Kelly

Schmidt, Kelly campaigns at odds on approach to Medicaid expansion in Kansas

by Noah Taborda, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — Katie Sawyer, Republican gubernatorial candidate Derek Schmidt’s running mate, said neither she nor the attorney general would support Medicaid expansion in its current proposed form.

Sawyer made the remarks at a candidate forum in Salina over the weekend in response to a question from an audience member who asked if Schmidt would support a plan to expand KanCare, the state-run Medicaid program. The audience member also questioned former Gov. Sam Brownback’s stance against expansion, arguing the state lost billions of dollars by not expanding.

“I can’t speak to what Gov. Brownback did,” Sawyer said. “What I will say pretty clearly is, as it stands right now in its current proposed form, Derek Schmidt would not be supportive of expanding Medicaid.”

C.J. Grover, campaign manager for Schmidt, said the attorney general could not support current proposals because they would assist able-bodied Kansans without children without a work requirement. No matter who is governor, Grover said he did not believe the Legislature was likely to pass Medicaid expansion.

Overall, he said Schmidt considers himself a “open-minded skeptic” on the issue.

“Should the Legislature one day reconsider and decide to advance a proposal, there are requirements AG Schmidt believes must be met,” Grover said. “First, the state share of the expansion cost must be honestly paid for, second there must be a work or job training requirement to ensure expansion is not a welfare program but instead a way to help able-bodied Kansans who are working to support themselves, and third there must be a clear and enforceable prohibition of any taxpayer funding for abortion coverage.

According to the most recent Kansas Health Institute estimates, expansion in January 2023 would lead to 148,000 newly enrolled Kansans. Nearly 88,000 adults who currently fall in the “Medicaid coverage gap” would gain coverage if Medicaid were to expand.

The April estimates indicate an increase of 36% from the pre-pandemic monthly average KanCare enrollment, but only a 1.4% increase in spending. In addition, KHI estimated that the American Rescue Plan Act would create $418 million in savings for Kansas over two years if KanCare were expanded to low-income adults.

“None of the non-expansion states have adopted expansion since ARPA was enacted,” the brief notes in conclusion. “In the meantime, Kansans who remain in the coverage gap have few alternatives for comprehensive affordable health insurance.”

KHI estimates include indirect effects of expansion enrollment for children and currently eligible adults.

Alliance for a Healthy Kansas estimates the state has lost out on over $5.6 billion without expansion and 150,000 Kansans fall in the Medicaid gap.

Proponents of expansion also highlight concerns with rural hospital closures. Since 2005, nine rural hospitals in the state have closed, and of the 105 rural hospitals in Kansas 75 are currently running at a loss and are vulnerable to closure, according to a Center for Health Care Quality and Payment Reform study.

Madison Andrus, a campaign spokeswoman for Gov. Laura Kelly, said the governor would continue to strongly support expansion.

“It will expand quality health care for 150,000 hardworking Kansans and create 23,000 jobs,” Andrus said. “That’s good for rural Kansas, good for the Kansas economy, and good for Kansas health care workers — and it will remain a top priority in her second term.”

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2022/06/28/schmidt-kelly-campaigns-at-odds-on-approach-to-medicaid-expansion-in-kansas/

Demise of Roe v. Wade adds gravity to Kansas’ vote on abortion constitutional amendment

Kelly: Combination of federal, state action may sharply restrict abortion rights

by Tim Carpenter and Sherman Smith, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Friday striking down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide resonates deeply in Kansas where a proposed constitutional amendment on the August ballot could set the stage for a wave of new abortion restrictions in the state.

Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat campaigning for reelection in 2022, said the decision by the nation’s highest court would have no immediate impact in Kansas given a Kansas Supreme Court opinion two years ago that said a constitutional right to abortion existed in the state’s Bill of Rights.

“But anybody who’s been alive in Kansas in the last six months knows that we have an amendment on the primary ballot that would essentially overturn the (state) Supreme Court ruling and say that women’s reproductive rights are not protected under the constitution,” Gov. Kelly said.

If the state constitutional amendment passed, Kelly said, the Republican-led Legislature would likely attempt to impose more stringent restrictions on women’s health care.

“If people in the state of Kansas vote no on that amendment, then the status quo will remain. And women’s reproductive rights will remain constitutional here in the state of Kansas,” Gov. Kelly said.

The decision by the U.S. Supreme Court held special significance in Kansas because the state’s voters head to the polls Aug. 2 to consider an abortion amendment to the Kansas Constitution. The amendment would reverse the state Supreme Court decision in 2019 that declared a right to bodily autonomy in the state’s Bill of Rights included a woman’s right to decide whether to carry a pregnancy to term.

Under the state Supreme Court’s decision, Kansans retained that right even if Roe v. Wade was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. Passage of the “Value Them Both” amendment to the Kansas Constitution would nullify the state Supreme Court’s interpretation of constitutional rights to private health decisions and open the door to a ban or additional limitations on the procedure in Kansas.

The proposed Kansas amendment included no exemption for pregnancies occurring as result of rape or incest or to save the life of the pregnant woman. However, it wouldn’t preclude the legislative and executive branches of state government from embracing those exceptions in Kansas law.

A coalition of anti-abortion, church and political organizations supporting the amendment claimed the state Supreme Court decision triggered an influx of out-of-state residents seeking abortions in Kansas. That perspective ignored consequences of profound abortion restrictions adopted in Texas and Oklahoma that pushed to other states women seeking reproductive health services.

“Kansas medical professionals are concerned about our state becoming a permanent destination state for painful dismemberment abortions,” said Mackenzie Haddix, who works with the pro-amendment coalition.

The Susan B. Anthony national pro-life group invested $1.3 million in Kansas to promote passage of the abortion amendment.

On the opposite side of the amendment debate, the bipartisan Kansans for Constitutional Freedom began airing television advertisements to encourage voters to choose “no” on the ballot measure. A simple majority of people participating in that statewide vote determine fate of the constitution amendment.

“On August 2nd, Kansas will vote on whether to eliminate Kansans’ freedom to make private medical decisions without political interference,” said Ashley All, spokesperson for Kansans for Constitutional Freedom. “The constitutional amendment on the primary ballot will mandate government control over our private medical decisions and pave the way for a total ban on abortion. We ask Kansans to vote no.”

The coalition’s first commercial warned passage of the amendment would grant politicians power to pass any law regarding abortion, including a total ban without exceptions. Another ad pointed to the oath taken by physicians to “do no harm,” and issues raised when politicians in Topeka would assume authority for medical decisions.

“If this amendment passes, there will be nothing to prevent politicians from banning abortion outright,” All said. “One legislator already introduced a bill that completely bans abortion, makes it a felony to receive or perform an abortion, and provides no real exception to save a woman’s life.”

In Kansas, seven of 10 abortions in Kansas occurred prior to nine weeks and 90% prior to 12 weeks. State law prohibits abortions after 22 weeks of a pregnancy. There have been no “post-viability” abortions in Kansas since 2018. Government funding of abortion has been outlawed.

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2022/06/24/demise-of-roe-v-wade-adds-gravity-to-kansas-vote-on-abortion-constitutional-amendment/

Kansas to give child care workers $53M in appreciation pay

by Sherman Smith, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — Gov. Laura Kelly on Tuesday announced a $53 million program to deliver bonuses to 22,000 child care workers at licensed facilities in Kansas.

Child care workers will receive a one-time payment between $750 and $2,500, depending on the hours they work, in late July. The governor said the appreciation bonuses are “a reward for their incredibly hard work.”

“Child care providers have faced unbelievable challenges during the last two-and-a-half years,” Gov. Kelly said. “Yet they’ve continued to fulfill their critical role in caring for kids. Their work is essential to the social and economic well-being of our state.”

The $53 million program is paid for with federal funds, the governor said. The bonuses will be administered by Child Care Aware of Kansas.

The governor announced the program in a news conference at Countryside United Methodist Church in Topeka, which renovated its child development center after closing during the pandemic.

Jenna Herrin, the center’s assistant director, said the appreciation bonuses will help morale for the underappreciated staff. The center serves about 60 kids ages 1 to 5, and has had to turn families down because it’s so full.

“I’ve worked in child care for a long time, and it doesn’t seem like we’ve been acknowledged for what we do — and it does take a village,” Herrin said.

Gov. Kelly said kids who receive early childhood education score higher on math and reading tests, are more likely to graduate, develop better social and emotional kills, and are better collaborators and problems. They earn more money as adults, are more likely to own a home and are less likely to suffer from substance abuse, she said.

“To sum it up, early childhood investment is the smartest investment a community can make in its future,” Kelly said. “It’s also the smartest investment a community can make in its present.”

Gov. Kelly said available child care remains a challenge as the state attracts businesses and adds jobs. The state’s unemployment rate recently hit an all-time low of 2.3%.

“That means that every person who wants to work will be able to find work,” Gov. Kelly said. “However, one of the biggest barriers to entering the workforce, or returning to the workforce post-pandemic, is the lack of access to quality child care.”

Earlier this year, the Kelly administration announced $160 million in federal grants to help child care providers with operating costs, payroll expenses and revenue losses.

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2022/06/21/kansas-to-give-child-care-workers-53m-in-appreciation-pay/