Medicaid expansion supporters block Kansas budget to pressure Republican leaders

TOPEKA -- Kansas lawmakers blocked a $7.7 billion state budget bill Friday to pressure Republican leaders into advancing Medicaid expansion.

The House voted 63-61 to send the budget proposal back for more negotiation in the most dramatic action expansion supporters have taken this year.

Late Friday, the House rejected a second budget package, 42-81. The new package was unpopular with lawmakers because it was smaller than the first budget bill and would have stopped Kansas from collecting more than $200 million in health-related federal funding.

More than 100,000 Kansans could receive health coverage if the state expands Medicaid, though critics fear the costs would ultimately prove unaffordable.

Read more: https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article229984989.html