Issue Position: Healthcare

Issue Position

DO YOU SUPPORT ACCEPTING FEDERAL DOLLARS FOR MEDICAID EXPANSION IN KANSAS? YES

In 2017 I worked hard to see that Medicaid expansion was signed into law in order to help cover healthcare costs for 150,000 Kansans who were unable to get or afford adequate healthcare. To our credit the House and the Senate both passed the Medicaid expansion bill only to have Governor Brownback veto the bill after he assured us he would not. Unfortunately, we were two votes short in the House and three in the Senate to get the two thirds majority needed to override the Governor's veto.

In 2018 I was again a strong voice for Medicaid expansion but this year the conservative leadership, with the new Governor's explicit and complicit approval would not even bring Medicaid expansion up for debate let alone a vote. I considered this refusal to address the healthcare needs of 150,000 of our most vulnerable citizens the low point of the 2018 session.

Accepting federal dollars for Medicaid expansion should be a top priority for the next Legislature. Not accepting such federal help, which has been in part paid for by Kansas taxpayers, has cost the state over almost three BILLION dollars in much needed revenue, denied adequate health care to thousands of Kansans, and put tremendous and unnecessary strain on our entire health care system. Lack of Medicaid expansion has put some Kansas hospitals out of business, and now threatens to eliminate over two dozen others. This, in turn, has put the lives and well-being of many Kansans at risk. It has also put at risk the economic future and the very existence of a number of small towns across the state.

The refusal of the conservative Republican administration and their loyalists in the legislature to expand Medicaid is not based on sound economic or health care reasons, but on blind allegiance to the partisan politics in Washington D.C. Kansans have suffered financially and physically from this unconscionable political pandering. Medicaid expansion is not only good for the Kansas economy; it is the correct and humanitarian thing to do for the people of Kansas.

KANSAS HAS THE MOST RESTRICTIVE ABORTION LAWS IN THE COUNTRY. AS A LEGISLATOR, WOULD YOU SUPPORT REDUCING THESE RESTRICTIONS? YES

The current ultra-conservative Governor Colyer has stated publically that his personal religious beliefs on this issue should override any differing religious or moral beliefs held by any woman or other citizen in Kansas. He believes Kansas should have even more restrictive laws outlawing abortions for any woman, regardless of her beliefs, at any time and for any reason whatsoever. I most certainly disagree.

Abortion decisions should be left in the hands of the women involved, without interference from a meddling state government or Governor. Women should be in charge of their own bodies and their own personal health decisions. Abortion decisions should be a personal matter, free of governmental intrusion, and based on the woman's personal beliefs. It should also be her choice whether to seek guidance from her husband, partner, spiritual adviser or medical professional.

Women choosing to have an abortion should have access to the best medical care and facilities possible without governmental interference, admonishment or restrictions. Government can best help reduce the number of abortions by providing financial assistance to organizations like Planned Parenthood, which not only provides valuable women's health care services but also provides the educational and contraceptive services that can help women lessen their chances of having to make this very difficult, very personal decision.

I have and will continue to support a woman's right to choose.

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