Budget problems are forcing Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback to make cuts in the state Medicaid program that he once said he wouldn’t make.
In 2012, Brownback was pushing lawmakers to approve his plan to privatize Medicaid. In his State of the State speech that year he said creating KanCare would save money--and do it in a more responsible way than other states.
“Now many states are either kicking people off of Medicaid or paying doctors and other providers less," he said. "Neither of these choices providers better outcomes.”
But ongoing budget problems are now forcing Brownback to do what he said he wouldn’t do: cut reimbursement rates to providers by about $42 million.
“The governor’s proposal to now cut Medicaid rates is a broken promise to not only providers but to the people of Kansas," says Cindy Samuelson, of the Kansas Hospital Association.
She says the cuts will hurt hospitals already struggling to deal with federal reductions in Medicare reimbursement rates.
