Kansas remains one of 10 states that have not adopted Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. Gov. Laura Kelly intends to change that, according to a Nov. 10 Joplin Globe report.
Ms. Kelly, a Democrat, wants the Kansas legislature to adopt Medicaid expansion next year and has been traveling to a number of towns and cities in the state since September to meet with local communities, according to the article. Sixty of 104 rural hospitals in the state are at risk of closing, she said.
Such a move could benefit 150,000 low-income Kansans, the report said.
"They're in the food service industry," Ms. Kelly said of the people that could benefit from such expansion. "They're in home health care. They're in day care. They’re doing the jobs that are absolutely essential, but don't provide employee-based insurance."
The state legislature approved Medicaid expansion in 2017, but the decision was vetoed by then-Gov. Sam Brownback.