Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Responses And Reviews: Action Needed On The Kansas Medicaid Expansion, Kentucky Mental Health Law
The Kansas City Star: Please, Gov. Brownback — Sign The Medicaid Expansion Bill
More than 140,000 Kansans are tantalizingly close to qualifying for Medicaid, the federal-state program providing health insurance coverage for poor and low-income Americans. Now, all that stands between those Kansans and health care is Gov. Sam Brownback. (3/28)
The Wichita Eagle: Heed Will Of Legislature, Public On Medicaid Expansion
Gov. Sam Brownback signed a bill into law in 2014 that required an act of the Legislature to expand Medicaid in Kansas. Well, both the Kansas House and Senate have now acted – approving an expansion bill with large bipartisan majorities. Brownback should respect the will of the Legislature – and the overwhelming public support for Medicaid expansion – and allow the bill to become law, either with his signature or without. (3/28)
Lexington Herald Leader: Legislature Should Override Bevin’s Veto Of Mental Health Bill
Lawmakers should override Gov. Matt Bevin’s veto of a bill allowing judges to order outpatient treatment for mental illness. This humane option is available in almost every state and has long been sought by advocates for the mentally ill in Kentucky, including Kelly Gunning, whose adult son has bounced between psychiatric hospitals and jails. Despite her futile efforts to get him help — “we know when he is spiraling down” — he is in jail now. Under the delusion that his parents were conspiring against him, he violently assaulted them last year, using a rock as a weapon. (3/28)
Louisville Courier-Journal: Override Bevin's Veto Of 'Tim's Law'
For five years, advocates of people with severe mental illness have fought for legislation in Kentucky designed to break the revolving cycle of hospitals, jails and homelessness. This session, their effort paid off — almost. Stunningly, Gov. Matt Bevin vetoed the legislation over concerns that it encroaches on individual civil liberties. (3/28)
Louisville Courier-Journal: Gov. Ignores Guardianship Crisis With Veto
Governor Matt Bevin announced his veto of Tim’s Law, a commonsense bill passed nearly unanimously by the legislature to provide needed care for the most severely mentally ill. Unfortunately, the veto evidences both a misunderstanding of both the nature of the bill and the public health crisis it would address. (John Snook, 3/28)
The Kansas City Star: Missouri Must Act On Drug Monitoring
Here is what it took for common sense about prescription drug addiction to gain traction in Jefferson City: more than five years of legislative wrangling, embarrassing national press painting Missouri as backwards and federal maneuvers allowing counties to act because state lawmakers would not. (3/28)
