by Meg Wingerter, Kansas News Service
A motion to override Gov. Sam Brownback’s veto of a bill that would expand Medicaid eligibility failed Monday in the Kansas House, 81-44. At least 84 votes were needed to override the veto and move the bill to the Senate.
The bill would have expanded Medicaid coverage to adults earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty line, or about $16,640 annually for an individual.
Estimates show about 300,000 Kansans would qualify for Medicaid under the expansion, though only about half that many were expected to sign up in the first year.
Last week Gov. Sam Brownback said he vetoed the bill because it would prioritize healthy adults over those with disabilities. Some disability rights groups dispute that characterization.
Rep. Clay Aurand, a Belleville Republican, said he supported a form of expansion but thought the existing bill wasn’t specific to Kansans’ needs and concerns. In explaining his vote against the override, Aurand said he hopes House leadership will form a group to design a new plan.
“I want to tighten this up,” he said.
Supporters tried just about every argument they had used earlier in the session, including that expanding Medicaid coverage would assist struggling hospitals, draw down more federal dollars for Kansas and assist low-income people in accessing preventative care.
Rep. Linda Gallagher, a Lenexa Republican, thanked House members for voting to table the bill Thursday, allowing her to vote on it Monday. She argued it would primarily benefit working-class Kansans.
“This is not a welfare bill. This is a bill to provide health care to the working poor,” she said.
The House was three votes short of overriding the veto when it voted to pass the expansion bill, and the Senate was two votes short.
Advocates scrambled over the weekend to sway lawmakers, and a town hall meeting in Olathe became tense as expansion supporters booed legislators who opposed it.
Meg Wingerter is a reporter for the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics in Kansas. You can reach her on Twitter @MegWingerter. Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to kcur.org.
See more at http://kcur.org/post/house-fails-override-brownback-veto-medicaid-expansion-bill.