Medicaid expansion will get its first Kansas legislative hearing in four years

A top Kansas Republican has committed to holding the first hearing on Medicaid expansion in four years.

Rep. Brenda Landwehr, R-Wichita and chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, confirmed to The Capital-Journal that she will have a hearing on Medicaid expansion after turnaround, a term for the legislative deadline for nonexempt bills.

Turnaround comes on Feb. 23 this year, after which there are six more weeks until first adjournment. Landwehr hasn't set a date for the hearing.

"The governor got it introduced as an exempt bill, so we're not on a timeframe in which it has to be heard," Landwehr said. "Everybody will know at the same time when I decide to hear it."

"We'll see where the chips lie," she added.

The last time Medicaid expansion got a public hearing in the Kansas Legislature was 2020, involving a bipartisan deal between Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and then-Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning that ultimately failed.

Kelly has long pushed for Medicaid expansion in Kansas, but the Republican-controlled Legislature has done little to act on her requests. Her efforts have failed each of the past five years.

"It's great that more and more legislators are listening to Kansans who overwhelmingly support Medicaid Expansion," said Brianna Johnson, a Kelly spokesperson, in a statement. "While we're encouraged by Rep. Landwehr's promise to hold a hearing on Medicaid Expansion, we urge her to act immediately. There is no reason to delay this until after turnaround."

The governor had previously challenged legislators to hold hearing by Kansas Day. When Jan. 29 came around without any hearings, Kelly issued a statement that "it's time legislators stop ignoring their constituents." She cited 23,710 emails to legislators from 1,020 Kansans sent via the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas.

Kelly renewed her call last week for legislators to hold a hearing "as soon as possible," citing the upcoming closure of Care Arc Health Clinic in Eureka.

The governor declared Medicaid expansion her No. 1 priority for the 2024 legislative session, amplifying those efforts with a statewide campaign in the fall that she dubbed the "Healthy Workers, Healthy Economy Tour." Republican leadership derided it as the "Governor's Welfare Express Tour."

Last month, House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, told reporters that he wasn't going to allow a vote on Medicaid expansion. That came immediately after Kelly said in her State of the State speech that she believed enough Republican legislators supported it that it would pass if Republican leadership allowed a vote.

"People say, 'Well, put it out for a vote.' I never put anything up for a vote unless it's going to pass," Hawkins said. "You don't ever see us put stuff out there just to watch it die. We put things up that's going to pass, and I can tell you right now there are not 63 votes for Medicaid expansion."

Hawkins has been the Legislature's most vocal opponent of expanding Medicaid.

Later that month, Rep. Jesse Borjon, R-Topeka, sent a letter to Hawkins requesting hearings and a vote on Medicaid expansion this session. He said it is a top issue for his constituents.

"They don't understand why the Legislature can't even debate the merits of the policy," Borjon wrote in the Jan. 18 letter.

Borjon supports Medicaid expansion, calling it "pro-business," "pro-family," good for economic growth and helpful for disabled Kansans.

"During my time in the Kansas Legislature, there has not been a hearing on Medicaid Expansion," wrote Borjon, who has been in the House since 2021. "I would welcome the opportunity to hear the pros and cons of expanding Medicaid in Kansas. Unfortunately, I have not been given this opportunity."

He told constituents in a newsletter that "leadership has prevented debate and a vote on this issue for far too long."

More: Kansas governor releases Medicaid expansion bill she says is responsive to GOP concerns

Landwehr committed to allowing both sides of the debate the chance to testify.

"Absolutely," she said. "I only do fair committees, irregardless of what the minority leader in the House thinks."

"I'm pleased to hear that," said House Minority Leader Vic Miller, D-Topeka and the legislator who introduced the bill, in a statement. "I'm looking forward to a fair hearing."

Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas legislator promises Medicaid expansion hearing in House