Hutchinson News: Kansans deserve vote on Medicaid

By the Editorial Advisory Board | July 10, 2020

Good job, Oklahoma voters.

On June 30, you all managed to get something done that has eluded the Kansas Legislature for the better part of a decade. You successfully voted to expand Medicaid in your state, covering tens of thousands of low-income residents.

Missouri voters will get to make the same decision next month, voting on a Medicaid referendum Aug. 4. We encourage them to follow the lead of our neighbors to the south.

In the meantime, of course, Kansas voters won’t get to make that choice. And it’s not because we don’t support expansion — polling consistently shows expansion is overwhelmingly popular. And it’s not because a majority in the House and Senate don’t back it — the votes were there throughout last session.

No, it’s because a small cadre of right-wing leaders, including Senate President Susan Wagle and House Speaker Ron Ryckman, persist in ideologically blinkered opposition to a law that preserves health and saves lives.

Read more here.