About a year ago, Kansas enacted the Governor’s program to contract Medicaid payments to private insurance companies through a program called KanCare.  Since that time, hospitals are going broke, doctors aren’t being paid and care is being denied to disabled Kansans. Despite these facts, the governor insists his KanCare program has been a success.

Meanwhile, the governor refused federal funds to insure over 80,000 Kansans who make too much money to be eligible for Medicaid but don’t make enough to afford private insurance.  To date, Kansas has turned down over 300 million dollars that would have gone to expand Medicaid and provide insurance coverage to working Kansans.

The losses to our state’s economy continue daily.  Not only are working Kansans without health insurance, but many nonprofit Kansas hospitals and other nonprofit care providers are on the brink of bankruptcy.

Most troubling, this year the legislature also passed HB 2553 which, if approved by Congress, will turn control of Medicare over to the governor.  Our governor has already shown his inability to manage KanCare and has refused over 300 million dollars to expand Medicaid.  I voted no on this bill, and will continue to oppose efforts to force our seniors into a health care system run by the governor.  There has already been enough damage done to the Kansas health care.

I will continue to vote to protect Medicare.  Medicare must not be a slush fund to balance the state budget and sold off to insurance companies.