Three Kansas GOP lawmakers who favor Medicaid expansion are removed from health committee

Three moderate Republicans who support Medicaid expansion have been removed from a Kansas House committee that oversees health care issues.

The move is the latest in the fight over whether the state should extend the health care program for those with disabilities or low incomes under the Affordable Care Act.

“Kansans oppose expanding Obamacare, a program that has busted budget after budget in states that have expanded it,” House Speaker Ray Merrick said in a statement.

Merrick, who makes House committee assignments, also moved moderates off key committees dealing with the budget and education Wednesday.

He said the changes were “in the best interests of our caucus and state.”

The lawmakers removed from the health committee were Rep. Barbara Bollier of Mission Hills, a retired physician; Rep. Susan Concannon, a Beloit Republican and the vice chair, who has a background in rural health; and Rep. Don Hill, an Emporia Republican and a pharmacist.

“I’m deeply saddened for the state that three of the most knowledgeable people on health care issues are being removed from all of the policymaking decisions … on one issue,” Bollier said.

Kansas is one of 20 states that have not expanded Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act.

Opponents of expansion, including Gov. Sam Brownback, cite concern over costs and skepticism about a federal pledge to pay for most of any expansion. Supporters, including the Kansas Hospital Association, say the state is losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding.

The push to expand Medicaid seemed to gather a little steam earlier this fall as the Mercy Hospital system closed its Independence, Kan., hospital in part because of the lack of Medicaid expansion. Some lawmakers talked about finding a solution similar to those used by other Republican-leaning states such as Indiana and Arkansas.

The Health and Human Services Committee is the most likely panel in the House to consider any Medicaid bills.

New members on the committee are Reps. Willie Dove, a Bonner Springs Republican; Brett Hildabrand, a Shawnee Republican; and John Whitmer, a Wichita Republican who has experience working for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

The chair of the committee, Rep. Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, said he had not been informed of the changes ahead of the decision.

“I would say the speaker probably has his reasons, but I wasn’t a part of that,” Hawkins said. “… I’m not going to second-guess that.”

Concannon said she found out she had been reassigned to the General Government Budget Committee after returning home from Beloit’s Veterans Day parade.

“I'm devastated,” said Concannon, who previously ran a foundation aimed at improving rural health care. “I haven’t done anything to undermine the chairman. I haven’t done anything to undermine the speaker. I just voiced my opinion on the issue.”

Hill and Bollier have both been moved to the elections committee.

“I’ll tell you what they have in common — their no vote on Medicaid expansion,” said Rep. Jim Ward of Wichita, the ranking Democrat on the committee, who contended that expansion had a strong chance of passing out of the committee otherwise.

Hill was also removed from the House Appropriations Committee, where he has been an outspoken opponent of the governor’s budget and tax policies. He noted that reassignments like this are unusual when the House is in the middle of a term.

Moderates Rep. Diana Dierks, a Salina Republican, and Rep. John Ewy, a Jetmore Republican, were reassigned from the House Education Committee to the elections and transportation committees. Dierks blamed this on their opposition to conservative reforms to education.

“They’re taking key people and putting us on committees where we can’t, as they say, stir the pot,” Dierks said. “But trust me … my voice will be heard.”

This story was originally published November 11, 2015 at 9:07 PM with the headline "Three Kansas GOP lawmakers who favor Medicaid expansion are removed from health committee."