Could GOP leaders’ political ambitions derail Medicaid expansion in Kansas?
Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle and House Speaker Ron Ryckman have something in common: They both oppose Medicaid expansion.
The two GOP leaders have something else in common: They are often mentioned as likely candidates for higher office. Wagle, in fact, said this month that she’s taking a “serious look” at the U.S. Senate following Sen. Pat Roberts’ announcement that he’s retiring.
As perhaps the lone woman in the race, Wagle would have a shot. After all, as she’s said, there’s a dearth of conservative women in Congress. That may be because so many Republicans remain wedded to the white male model of American politics.
“It’s very, very disappointing to me that conservative Republican women really are not having a voice in Washington,” she said.
Ryckman, who is from Olathe, has already been mentioned as a possible congressional candidate to take on Sharice Davids. in 2020 If that’s not his ticket, a campaign for statewide office could be.
So both Wagle and Ryckman share a common need, which is appealing to conservative Republicans who decide GOP primaries. That may begin to explain why — in addition to philosophical concerns — both are working overtime these days to ensure that Medicaid expansion never occurs.
If expansion passes on their watch, conservatives would be deeply unhappy.
As we editorialized this week, both are stacking the decks of key legislative committees to bottle up expansion. Other routes to passage remain, but Wagle and Ryckman are doing everything they can to make passage as arduous as humanely possible.
Even die-hard supporters have turned pessimistic.
“You talk about a wall being built. This is the Kansas legislative wall right now,” said state Sen. Barbara Bollier, a Mission Hills Democrat.
There’s something to be said for standing your ground. But there’s also something to be said for real leadership evolving to fit changing times in a state that is screaming for expansion.
That’s exactly what’s happening in Kansas.
By now, the arguments are well known. Some 37 states have expanded Medicaid, including Kansas neighbors Colorado and Nebraska. Some of the nation’s most conservative states have bought in: Idaho, Utah, Arkansas, Louisiana and North Dakota. Kansas has become an outlier.
The Kansas Hospital Association dispenses with one of the most persistent arguments with a graphic that shows that expansion actually would add money to state coffers to the tune of $5 million. In polls, Kansans have clearly expressed their will with 68 percent saying they back expansion. Gov. Laura Kelly, who is staking a huge chunk of her political capital on the issue, prevailed by 5 percentage points in last year’s governor’s race, beating an ardent expansion foe.
In 2017, both chambers of the Kansas Legislature passed expansion with bipartisan support. That year, the House came within just three votes of overriding then-Gov. Sam Brownback’s veto.
All this says nothing about the legions of Kansans who would receive medical care via expansion and the rural hospitals that would be stabilized.
Wagle and Ryckman should heed Brownback’s lesson. He steadfastly refused to reverse course on his tax “experiment” even after evidence had mounted against it. Voters ran him out of the state.
What a shame it would be if politics were playing a role in the ridiculous obstinance of Susan Wagle and Ron Ryckman.
This story was originally published January 17, 2019 at 4:53 PM with the headline "Could GOP leaders’ political ambitions derail Medicaid expansion in Kansas?."
