In a move that has infuriated health advocates in his state and across the country, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback vetoed a measure last week that would have expanded Medicaid across the state.
As The Kansas City Star reports, the decision means 150,000 more Kansans will go without health care than if he had signed it. The bill passed the Senate in a 25-14 vote, and passed the house by a similarly wide margin of 81-44.
To explain his veto, Brownback claimed expanding Medicaid “fails to serve the truly vulnerable before the able-bodied.”
But Sean Gatewood, a spokesman for disabled Kansans, disagreed with this notion.
“[Brownback] needs to check the record,” he said. “The disability community’s 100 percent behind this.”
Former Governor Kathleen Sebelius also criticized her current counterpart.
“If this bill had come to my desk, I would have loved it,” she said.
It's not yet known if the Legislature will be able to muster enough votes to overturn the veto.