Republicans Block Medicaid Expansion Effort in Kansas

Kansas won’t be expanding Medicaid as the vote to overrideGov. Sam Brownback’s veto of expansion was three votes shy of passing.

The bill that would have extended coverage to roughly 180,000 low-income residents under Obamacare has failed.

The final tally was 81-44, meaning Democratic and centrist Republican supporters of expansion couldn’t cobble together the two-thirds majority needed to trump the governor in the 125-member chamber.

That means 180,000 low-income residents, many of whom voted for Brownback and Trump will go without access to healthcare. Keep in mind that this covers the working poor and those in-between jobs, helping to “bounce people back up out of poverty during difficult times.”

See: Medicaid expansion effort comes up short in Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback triumphs in narrow vote to override his veto.