Gov. Laura Kelly calls for Medicaid expansion, offers tax cut plan that speeds up end of grocery tax

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly renewed her call to expand Medicaid and countered an anticipated single-rate flat income tax for individuals with a plan that would instead cut taxes by doing things like accelerating the phasing out of the state’s sales tax...

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly renewed her call Wednesday to expand Medicaid and countered an anticipated single-rate flat income tax for individuals with a plan that would instead cut taxes by doing things like accelerating the phasing out of the state’s sales tax on groceries.

Kelly said in her annual State of the State address that her slate of proposals, which also includes an ongoing focus on addressing falling water levels in a vast aquifer used to irrigate crops, are key to helping rural parts of the state.

So far Medicaid expansion has been a non-starter in the Republican-controlled Legislature. But she noted the challenges rural hospital are facing as she tried again following five years of failed efforts to provide state health coverage to an additional 150,000 people.

“They say that Medicaid Expansion is not a silver bullet for our rural hospitals,” she said in embargoed remarks. “You know what? I agree. Of course it’s not going to solve every challenge facing rural healthcare. But it’s a critical part of the solution. We can’t solve the problem without it.”

House Speaker Dan Hawkins decried the Medicaid expansion in a message on X, formerly Twitter.