KS Gov. Kelly rejects bill blocking her administration from negotiating KanCare contracts
Touting the need for a “transparent, competitive bidding process,” Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed legislation aimed at barring her administration from seeking new contractors to run the state’s Medicaid program.
Contracts for the three insurance companies that administer KanCare, Kansas’ privatized Medicaid system, are up at the end of next year. Kelly’s administration was set to put requests for proposals out this fall to begin the process of negotiating new contracts, but Kansas Republicans passed a bill blocking the RFP from going out until January, when the winner of the 2022 election will be in office.
The program provides healthcare coverage for low income and disabled Kansans.
GOP lawmakers said the bill would ensure Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, the presumptive Republican nominee for Governor, could run the renegotiation process how he wants to if he wins in November.
“The language included in HB 2387 regarding the current MCO contracts is a product of closed-door dealings to push legislation that did not have a single proponent. There is little question that this effort is fraught with legal issues and jeopardizes our Medicaid program,” said Kelly, a Democrat up for re-election this year.
The bill, however, could still become law if the Legislature overrides it when it returns to Topeka on May 23. The bill passed the House with 84 votes, the exact number needed to override Kelly’s veto. The Senate fell one vote short of a veto proof majority but was missing two Republican Senators.
The bill also included provisions banning a Kansas governor from closing churches in future emergencies— a provision House GOP leaders said last month would reinforce protections in the state constitution.
Nevertheless, House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, mentioned 2020 capacity limits Kelly placed on churches in his response to her veto.
“It’s not surprising that the Governor would veto attempts to put a check on her abuses of power. Thankfully, Kansas voters will have the opportunity to permanently check Governor Kelly’s overreach this November,” Hawkins said.
The bill would all but mandate a 1-year no-bid extension of the $4 billion contracts to Aetna, Sunflower Health Plan and United Healthcare. Kelly and her Medicaid director, Sarah Fertig, have warned against a blanket extension.
It has sparked accusations of pay-for-play politics in the statehouse from Democrats who believe Republicans are trying to favor friends in the insurance business.
Republicans, however, have said they are weary of Kelly leading the RFP process pointing to the drawn out effort to hire a contractor to replace Kansas’ outdated unemployment software.
Speaking to lawmakers earlier this year, Fertig said no-bid extensions of the KanCare contracts would encourage bad action from contractors.
The KanCare program was privatized in 2013 under Republican Gov. Sam Brownback. The program has a history of issues including claim backlogs. Democrats, including Kelly, have long called for greater scrutiny over the contractors.
This story was originally published May 13, 2022 at 4:47 PM.
