Davids Statement on Federal Medicaid Strategy Inclusion in Budget Package

Representative Sharice Davids released the following statement after the House Energy & Commerce Committee passed a federal Medicaid expansion strategy in their portion of the budget reconciliation package:

"Hundreds of thousands of Kansans can't afford health insurance simply because they live in a state where partisan politicians have repeatedly refused to expand Medicaid, turning down significant financial help from the federal government. We owe it to those Kansas families and individuals to do whatever possible to get them covered, especially during a pandemic.

I'm glad to see that the House Energy & Commerce Committee approved a federal strategy for Medicaid expansion in their budget package, which would cover as many as 4.3 million Americans in non-expansion states like Kansas. I will continue pushing on all angles to extend life-saving health care coverage to every Kansan."

Background:

In August, Davids called for Congressional leaders to continue the current expansion incentives and include a new federal plan to expand Medicaid coverage in the budget package. Kansas is one of 12 states that has chosen not to take the financial incentives and expand Medicaid, leaving as many as 165,000 Kansans without access to affordable health care during a pandemic.

Davids successfully fought to include increased financial incentives for Medicaid expansion in the American Rescue Plan, which became law in March of this year. Under those incentives, Medicaid expansion in Kansas would be completely paid for through the first two years, after which the federal government would continue to cover 90% of the cost—yet the state has still not expanded the program.

One option to cover the more than 4 million Americans left vulnerable by states' inaction is the Medicaid Saves Lives Act. This Davids-backed legislation would create a federal Medicaid-style program to extend coverage eligibility to all individuals under 138% of the Federal Poverty Level, establishing a permanent solution for the failure of non-expansion states like Kansas to extend the program. The House Energy & Commerce Committee included a similar provision in their portion of the reconciliation package, which passed today and heads to the House Budget Committee to be combined with bills from other committees.

Research confirms that Medicaid expansion increases access to care, improves financial security, and leads to better health outcomes, and failure to expand Medicaid disproportionately affects people of color, as 60% of people in the coverage gap are Black, Hispanic, Asian, or Pacific Islander. Additionally, a recent report found that Kansas could increase its economic output by $17 billion and add an estimated 23,000 new jobs if the state chose to expand Medicaid.