Crushed by defeat, patients and providers vow to fight on to expand Medicaid in Kansas

PITTSBURG, Kan. — The vote felt like a blow to Suzan Emmons.

Kansas came close this week — achingly close — to expanding Medicaid to extend health insurance to low-income adults like her. The Republican-dominated Legislature had passed the bill and supporters vowed to override the governor’s veto. But on Monday, the House fell three votes short.

“I’m very angry. It’s almost hurtful,” said Emmons, 56, who makes just under $13,000 a year cleaning houses and can’t afford insurance on her own. “They don’t realize I’m not looking for something given to me. They think it’s just a bunch of bums on welfare looking for a handout. It’s not. It’s working people.”

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