Health care in Kansas remains a contentious issue in the halls of power. On Tuesday an oversight panel turned into a verbal sparring match about the state’s handling of its Medicaid program, reports The Topeka Capitol-Journal.
Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook, a Shawnee Republican chairing the House-Senate committee, sparred with Rep. Jim Ward, a Wichita Democrat. Ward has often been at odds with the executive branch's decisions about Medicaid. When the Republican chair shut down his line of questioning about the cost of human services, Ward objected. He asked if the meeting was meant to provide oversight or existed merely to cover up the state’s mistakes. Pilcher-Cook replied that the meeting was an oversight committee. Ward said, “You’re not a dictator,” and objected again.
In Kansas, Medicaid has been privatized and renamed KanCare by the administration of Gov. Sam Brownback.