Medicaid expansion again has a chance to pass through the Kansas legislature, land on the governor’s desk, and become law if it can only make it through the Senate.

Medicaid expansion is important to the health and welfare of the citizens of Kansas. As the health and care of patients becomes more complex, access to care needs to evolve as well.

If Kansas were to fully adopt the ACA and expand Medicaid, there would be improved patient outcomes for those people that are most vulnerable: the poor, the disabled, and the elderly.

The expansion of Medicaid, even with the taxes used, would pay for itself, according to different legislators. The economic impact of having hospitals open in smaller communities helps those towns’ economies as well as taking the burden off of the larger hospitals in the state, so they can provide appropriate care to patients.

The only hold up to all of this happening is the passing of the current bill through the Senate. The majority leadership is hoping that the bill will get caught up in committee and die there. There are minority leaders that are planning on brining the bill to the senate floor for a vote even without committee processing.

When this happens, I encourage people to contact their local senators and let them know the positive impact of Medicaid expansion in Kansas and to vote YES.

-Joshua Hardy, Nursing Education Graduate Student