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You are here: Home / Anderson On Health Insurance / What’s going on in Kansas

What’s going on in Kansas

by David Anderson|  February 23, 20178:25 am| 65 Comments

This post is in: Anderson On Health Insurance

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Some very interesting news in Kansas that I don’t know how to interpret:

 

Per @emma_sandoe, Kansas’ House just voted 85-40 in favor of expanding Medicaid.

— Sarah Kliff (@sarahkliff) February 22, 2017

The argument that is being advanced is that even at a 90% Federal match, there is a Medicaid expansion package that will reduce Kansas state expenditures so it helps the state legislature dig out of the Brownback inspired fiscal hole without raising taxes and without being heartless bastards. And that argument seems to have worked in at least the House.

Here is what I don’t know yet:

  • Will this pass the Senate?
  • Will it pass with a Senate super-majority that is veto-proof?
  • Is it straight up expansion/state plan amendment or a 1115 waiver application?
  • What the hell is going on?

So what the hell is going on in Kansas as this seems slightly unbelievable in a good way.  And who do we need to call to encourage good votes in the Senate?

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Reader Interactions

65Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    February 23, 2017 at 8:25 am

    They are free from having to oppose a black president.

  2. 2.

    manyakitty

    February 23, 2017 at 8:32 am

    I suspect Brownback will veto it, as he’s promised to do with any tax increases to help his state continue to exist. And the good country people keep voting for the nihilistic bastards.

  3. 3.

    MattF

    February 23, 2017 at 8:38 am

    I’m pretty certain that ‘without being heartless bastards’ is not the reason. It’s all about being heartless bastards. That said, they gotta balance that budget.

  4. 4.

    NobodySpecial

    February 23, 2017 at 8:41 am

    Feel good bill that they know will die in the Senate, but they can point back to come election time?

  5. 5.

    aimai

    February 23, 2017 at 8:47 am

    Wonder if people in the state house are starting to panic seeing all the pro-obamacare fervor, and are realizing that their constituents don’t want the ACA repealed and that they are just leaving money on the table w/r/t the medicaid expansion?

  6. 6.

    rikyrah

    February 23, 2017 at 8:56 am

    @Baud:

    They are free from having to oppose a black president.

    you are telling all kinds of truth this morning.

  7. 7.

    dmsilev

    February 23, 2017 at 8:57 am

    without being heartless bastards

    That’s never been an obstacle for them before.

  8. 8.

    Wjs

    February 23, 2017 at 8:57 am

    Does medicare give free abortions? That’s the only thing that matters in Kansas. If someone links abortion to Medicare then that’s it. Case closed.

  9. 9.

    Anonymous At Work

    February 23, 2017 at 8:59 am

    Kansas just passed tax increases over the governor’s veto. I’d think the state Senate would use Obamacare to close the holes too.

  10. 10.

    RAM

    February 23, 2017 at 9:05 am

    @Anonymous At Work: No, the Kansas House voted to override Brownback’s veto, but the Senate voted to uphold, so the tax increase that passed both houses is dead. It’s unlikely the Medicade bill will pass Brownback’s veto. Kansas continues to commit fiscal suicide. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/22/us/kansas-governor-sam-brownback-tax-veto.html

  11. 11.

    geg6

    February 23, 2017 at 9:13 am

    Well, they did vote for a tax increase, too. Even though they couldn’t override the governor’s veto, it says that the recent election that saw some sanity voted into the KS legislature just needs one more election cycle and maybe the state can recover from this self-made disaster.

  12. 12.

    Elizabelle

    February 23, 2017 at 9:18 am

    @aimai: I would guess that’s the case.

    I don’t understand why state governments won’t take 90% federal funding for healthcare spending. You know they’d be all over it if it was defense/military-related.

    I can’t see ever living in Kansas or Missouri or other states like that. Think I’d rather live under a bridge in a blue state. I feel badly for the sane and compassionate people who do live there. (Ozark Hillbilly, you have more stones than I do!)

  13. 13.

    amk

    February 23, 2017 at 9:24 am

    I blame Obama.

  14. 14.

    hovercraft

    February 23, 2017 at 9:25 am

    So what the hell is going on in Kansas as this seems slightly unbelievable in a good way.

    Math is going on in Kansas, it seems to me that no matter how much they repeat their mantra that cutting taxes produces unicorns and manna from heaven, math has it’s own reality.
    Let’s hope the senate and that shitstain Brownback can reacquaint themselves with it long enough to get on board.

  15. 15.

    philpm

    February 23, 2017 at 9:26 am

    I live in Missouri and work in Kansas, so here’s my take. No, it probably won’t pass the Senate. If it does, it’ll end up like the tax increase Brownback just vetoed, just short of enough to override. I’m not sure at this point, but I think it may be a straight-up expansion. As for what the hell is going on, that’ll be an open and ongoing question for years to come.

  16. 16.

    Eric

    February 23, 2017 at 9:26 am

    Simplest explanation is that the monied interests in Kansas are scared for their business lives

  17. 17.

    hueyplong

    February 23, 2017 at 9:26 am

    What is, “Failed right wing economics bailed out by Democratic program, to be spun as something else.”

    I’ll take GOP asshattery for $400, Alex.

  18. 18.

    dav1bg

    February 23, 2017 at 9:28 am

    Medicaid requires that everything it pays for must be paid back through the estate of the patient after they die.. They always seem to forget that little fact. So much for leaving a legacy.

  19. 19.

    Mustang Bobby

    February 23, 2017 at 9:29 am

    I have been going to a week-long theatre festival in rural Kansas every year for the past 26 years. In that time I’ve seen the state go from a moderately conservative place where they elected Democratic governors (i.e. Kathleen Siebelius) and reasonable Republicans to bull-goose loony with the likes of Sam Brownback and Kris Kobach. I’ve asked my friends who live there what the hell happened, and they shake their heads and mutter apologetically about a combination of Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, and their exploitation of abstract fears of gay marriage and abortion clinics over their own self-interest. Thomas Frank nailed it in “What’s the Matter with Kansas?”

  20. 20.

    Elizabelle

    February 23, 2017 at 9:29 am

    If they were smart, they could spin it as a jobs program. Healthcare accounts for a heck of a lot of jobs, and local jobs, since a lot of it cannot be outsourced.

    We are, of course, dealing with retreads in Kansas.

    But I cannot understand why military spending — yea! Bring it on! Healthcare spending … silence. Jobs are jobs, and healthcare presents a lot of good and skilled ones. That actually help people. Enable them to lead better lives and contribute to society, often monetarily. (Healthy enough to work.)

    WTF is the matter with Kansas. (Note: the GOP dinosaurs in Virginia voted down any attempt by our very good governor, Terry McAuliffe, to try to expand Medicaid. I hope they are shaking in their boots if they do town hall meetings.)

  21. 21.

    mai naem mobile

    February 23, 2017 at 9:29 am

    OT – Alan Colmes died.

  22. 22.

    MattF

    February 23, 2017 at 9:30 am

    @Elizabelle: I like to think of Kansas as the State of Cognitive Dissonance.

  23. 23.

    Sunny Raines

    February 23, 2017 at 9:36 am

    @dmsilev: since heartless bastards IS a republican feature, anything without it is hold your nose time for them

  24. 24.

    low-tech cyclist

    February 23, 2017 at 9:38 am

    @Baud:

    They are free from having to oppose a black president.

    The other thing is, if the GOP Congress block-grants Medicaid, how much Medicaid funding each state gets now will almost surely be figured in some way into the baseline for the size of each state’s block grant. So taking the Medicaid expansion now is a way of staking a claim to a bigger share of the block-grant pie later.

  25. 25.

    Patricia Kayden

    February 23, 2017 at 9:39 am

    Thanks Obama!! This is all part of the Obama legacy which will endure long after he’s out of the White House.

  26. 26.

    mai naem mobile

    February 23, 2017 at 9:40 am

    The Kansas House passed the tax increase and overrode Brownbacks veto. Anybody know the make up of the Kansas state senate?

  27. 27.

    thafax

    February 23, 2017 at 9:41 am

    Will this pass the Senate?
    Quite possibly.

    Will it pass with a Senate super-majority that is veto-proof?
    It’s not impossible. The override for the tax bill that Brownback vetoed failed by only two votes. Medicare expansion might be a bit more palatable.

    Is it straight up expansion/state plan amendment or a 1115 waiver application?
    I…dunno. They’ve actually been considering Medicaid expansion for awhile.

    What the hell is going on?
    It got lost in the bad electoral news last November, but Kansas actually voted out a fair number of extreme right-wingers in the state house and senate and replaced them with moderates. Brownback’s the last person in the state who truly believes in his economic policies are working, so he’ll have to veto stuff to save face. (i was so hoping Trump would give him a job, but I’ll bet he’s fairly toxic to Republicans now.) But on the whole the state’s taking steps to return to fiscal sanity. Indeed I’d say the governor who replaces Brownback has a chance to preside over an ‘economic miracle’.

  28. 28.

    raven

    February 23, 2017 at 9:42 am

    Grace Slick Licenses Song To Chick-fil-A, Gives Proceeds To LGBTQ Rights Organization

    During the Grammys broadcast last weekend, you may have seen a new ad for notoriously ultra-religious and socially conservative fast food chain Chick-fil-A featuring cows passing out VR headsets with Starship‘s 1986 hit “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” playing underneath. While the commercial is undoubtedly entertaining, the use of this song in a commercial by such a right-leaning corporation was surprising, given that Starship (and it’s various earlier incarnations) was a central piece of the free-loving, psychedelic San Francisco music scene during the 60’s. You can view the commercial in question below:

  29. 29.

    David Anderson

    February 23, 2017 at 9:45 am

    @dav1bg: No. For individuals 55+ who receive long term care through Medicaid, the estate is liable to be attached to pay for LTC. For routine medical care, the estate is not at risk.

  30. 30.

    NobodySpecial

    February 23, 2017 at 9:47 am

    @mai naem mobile: It’s a shame for his family. Plus conservative outlets are gonna have to talent search for another squish to stick next to a firebreathing conservatard.

  31. 31.

    Elizabelle

    February 23, 2017 at 9:48 am

    @MattF: In other states, the cognitively dissonant are safer, because Democrats will save them.

    All the more reason to stay in Blue States! And purple ones that are trending blue.

    I have stopped traveling and spending money in red states, where it’s possible.

    (Will be making an exception for beloved North Carolina, which did elect a Democrat governor. Getting to be springtime at the Biltmore — I go for the grounds and gardens and mountain views, not the ostentatious house. Been there done that for the house. But Asheville rocks!)

  32. 32.

    low-tech cyclist

    February 23, 2017 at 9:52 am

    @Mustang Bobby: My mother’s family is from Arkansas City, Kansas. Her father was a big fish in that small pond, so we knew the Docking family pretty well back then. In those days (the 1960s), at least, Kansas was conservative but sane, and could elect Dems like Bob Docking as governor.

    I’ve only been back a couple of times since the 1980s, and my generation of the family all moved out of there, so your understanding of how Kansas got from there to where it is now is far better than mine.

  33. 33.

    thafax

    February 23, 2017 at 10:10 am

    @Elizabelle: ‘I have stopped traveling and spending money in red states, where it’s possible.’

    I don’t know why you say this as if it’s a good thing that you’re proud of. It spits in the face of those of us trying to do good things in red states. It demonstrates the kind of insularity I bet you think is endemic to red states.

  34. 34.

    gex

    February 23, 2017 at 10:16 am

    So Kansas voted for a federal government that would end the ACA but a state government that is finally open to it? Sounds about right.

  35. 35.

    Mnemosyne

    February 23, 2017 at 10:34 am

    @thafax:

    I’m doing the same thing. I’m sorry that boycotts are going to hurt regular people, but it’s not like the bus companies in Montgomery weren’t economically harmed by the boycotts.

    If you know of a specific company in your state that should be supported, let us all know. Otherwise, I’m spending my money in states and with companies that don’t hate my guts for being a liberal.

  36. 36.

    Elizabelle

    February 23, 2017 at 10:43 am

    @thafax: I make no apology. Yes, I realize there are plenty of good people in every single state.

    But I am not spending my money, where I have discretion, in states that voted a great big “fuck you” at me.**

    It might be nice for states that rely on travel and tourism to realize that. Blue money spends just as well as red, and perhaps some of the red states need to learn that the hard way.

    Money is the only thing that talks to these shitheels. Spend it carefully.

    ** do make exceptions for cultural stuff; would love to visit that Deep South plantation that focuses on the slaves’ lives there. And blue enclaves in red states.

  37. 37.

    Elizabelle

    February 23, 2017 at 10:49 am

    @thafax: FWIW, the “insularity” you speak of does not need to be longterm, either.

    But maybe for the length of this stolen presidential term. Make them pay.

  38. 38.

    Chris

    February 23, 2017 at 10:57 am

    @Elizabelle:

    I don’t understand why state governments won’t take 90% federal funding for healthcare spending. You know they’d be all over it if it was defense/military-related.

    Because ideology – the poor must suffer – Trumps everything else.

    It hasn’t been about simple money/greed for a long time.

  39. 39.

    hovercraft

    February 23, 2017 at 10:58 am

    @thafax:
    Boycotts hurt, that is the point. It was the boycotts that brought down Apartheid, Gandhi and his boycotts brought about the end of British rule. Persuasion does not work on people who refuse to be persuaded, so non violent punishment is the only alternative, in this case I hope that money, their be all and end all gets their attention, if not, oh well. I chose not to give my money to people who have nothing but disdain for me, that is my prerogative, just as it’s theirs to vote for these morons who are bankrupting their states. Your fight within the state is admirable, but the majority of people who are not fighting to change the states, have to understand that actions have consequences.

  40. 40.

    gvg

    February 23, 2017 at 11:05 am

    @thafax: I live in a state that trends red though for some things blue or some areas, Florida, and I disagree. The morons who voted for the morons can’t learn better any other way. Economic understanding seems rare and the supposed business friendly party is doing stuff that is economic suicide for the whole country. Protectionism and deportations, bullying other countries leaders and harassing tourists, past threats of default that will probably happen again, tax cuts instead of infrastructure, etc are all historically proven disasters but they are doing it again. Florida is a tourism big business state. People staying away is only smart on their part but it’s going to bite us quick. I can’t believe any Florida politician didn’t see how dangerous these policies are.
    A lot of then only care about money. A false understanding of how it works has lead them to this crazy land. Hurting us financially will either wake some up or get new ones elected. Money matters alot to many of them, it’s one of the few weapons we have so we have to use it. Now I don’t care for some of the derisive comments that paint us all as bigots, but a boycott is actually inevitable. Foreigners aren’t going to come spend their millions, if some domestic citizens choose to enhance the impact, it may get relief faster.
    It won’t help on convincing the religious or anti science deluded but they may find that eating is more important and less certain than they assumed.

  41. 41.

    thafax

    February 23, 2017 at 11:05 am

    @hovercraft: Yeah, but this isn’t boycotting. It’s indiscriminate slacktivism that does nothing more than make you guys feel better and won’t change a goddamn thing.

  42. 42.

    thafax

    February 23, 2017 at 11:06 am

    @Elizabelle: By your logic you shouldn’t spend money in the United States. We should be punished for our dumbassery!

  43. 43.

    thafax

    February 23, 2017 at 11:09 am

    @Mnemosyne: Comparing your refusal to patronize red states to the Montgomery bus boycott is the most tone-deaf, arrogant thing I’m going to read all day. Especially coupled with your ‘sorry some little guys have to get hurt’ thinking. You’re no better than the Republicans passing the legislation that you dislike.

  44. 44.

    James Powell

    February 23, 2017 at 11:16 am

    No doubt the Kansas legislature is eager to dole out government benefits now that that [insert racist epithet] isn’t going to get credit for it. Assuming that their insane governor will allow, we can expect to see articles quoting people from Kansas praising the new president who fixed the problems with Obamacare so that they are now covered.

    I hate them all. I really hate them all.

  45. 45.

    Elizabelle

    February 23, 2017 at 11:20 am

    @thafax: No. Hillary won the popular vote by nearly 3 million. Americans as a whole did not vote for the reaming they are undergoing.

    There is economic power in our spending. We can make it count for us.

    That said, I think you raised a great issue.

  46. 46.

    Stan

    February 23, 2017 at 11:25 am

    @hovercraft:

    Gandhi and his boycotts brought about the end of British rule

    Hmm….much as I admire what Gandhi and the Congress party did, I think Britain’s virtual bankruptcy from WW2 is what doomed their rule in India and most of the rest of their colonies.

  47. 47.

    WereBear

    February 23, 2017 at 11:33 am

    @thafax: But what then?

    There are many couples and families who are in some way a target in red states; and this now goes for anyone who doesn’t look like an Aryan recruiting poster. Had I a same sex marriage, interracial grandchild, or handicapped companion; I would be afraid to court trouble in a red state.

  48. 48.

    The Moar You Know

    February 23, 2017 at 11:33 am

    @thafax: The obvious fear in your multiple responses to a fairly innocuous idea tells me this is something worth pursuing.

    FWIW, the boycott levied on North Carolina led to the defeat of a very popular sitting governor. More of that.

    PS: most of my family is living in NC and they say “it’s working” – and I believe them.

  49. 49.

    jake the antisoshul soshulist

    February 23, 2017 at 11:34 am

    Some figured out that Brownbackism was hurting the state. And since Obama/Democrats won’t get credit, they are in favor of it.

  50. 50.

    Lizzy L

    February 23, 2017 at 11:37 am

    @dav1bg: See David Anderson’s response at 29. Also, a lot of folks on Medicaid die with nothing. They have no estates; nothing to take.

  51. 51.

    Yarrow

    February 23, 2017 at 11:44 am

    @thafax: I think what matters with any boycott of an organization or a state or a product or whatever is that it’s organized, sustained and there’s publicity so that people know that it’s happening and why it’s happening. Without that then a few random people boycotting something isn’t really effective. It takes numbers and a strong message so that those who are being targeted understand why they’re being boycotted and what need to change for the boycott to end.

    A current one that seems to be working is the one against Ivanka Trump’s business. Lots of publicity, a good store and business boycott list, social media action and publicized wins (Nordstrom drops Ivanka’s line).

  52. 52.

    hovercraft

    February 23, 2017 at 11:57 am

    @thafax: Refusing to go to a red state and spend my money there is boycotting, or am I missing something.

  53. 53.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    February 23, 2017 at 12:20 pm

    … there is a Medicaid expansion package that will reduce Kansas state expenditures so it helps the state legislature dig out of the Brownback inspired fiscal hole without raising taxes…

    It may be a knee-jerk reaction on my part, but I find it kind of annoying that what really seems to be motivating this is “how do we get someone else to pay for this?”

    If I’m wrong about this, I apologize in advance…

  54. 54.

    TenguPhule

    February 23, 2017 at 12:20 pm

    @thafax:

    It’s indiscriminate slacktivism that does nothing more than make you guys feel better and won’t change a goddamn thing.

    X number of dollars goes to Blue State A rather then to Red State B. At some point, Red State B starts coming to its senses or it turns into a Hellhole abandoned by the sane. Either way, it counts as a win.

  55. 55.

    TenguPhule

    February 23, 2017 at 12:22 pm

    @Thru the Looking Glass…: You’re not wrong.

    Republicans are the original freeriding leeches that produce no value to society.

  56. 56.

    WestTexan70

    February 23, 2017 at 12:43 pm

    @thafax: I’ve lived in Texas all my life. Once we retire in 5 years, we’re outta here. I don’t blame anyone who’s not from a red state deciding to not spend $$ here. After all, hitting the sleazeballs in the wallet is the only language they understand. We used to vacation in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. For the past couple of years, that’s been switched to Washington, Oregon and British Columbia. Here in the midst of “conservatism”, I actively avoid places who I know support tRump and the Pubs. It’s impossible to completely avoid spending $$ with trumpanistas, but when I can, I do.

  57. 57.

    john b

    February 23, 2017 at 1:17 pm

    What’s heartbreaking about this as a North Carolinian is that there really are two vastly different populations here. HB2 is not popular and economic pressure will hopefully work. But most of the places that would be hurt by a boycott are very blue. Basically anywhere there are cities, are blue in NC outside of maybe the military bases on the coast.

    I’m kind of torn on the issue. Tangentially related a friend of mine and his wife started a non-profit in Raleigh based on these ideas called Come Out and Show Them and particularly their “North Carolina Needs You” initiative addresses this conflict in regards to touring musicians and artists. From their page:
    Edit:
    Better statement
    they basically encourage artists to use their voice at shows in NC to spread messages of LGBTQ rights and to raise money for worthy causes.

    All this to say: There’s no right answer here. There are different ways of trying to address the problem.

  58. 58.

    Gretchen

    February 23, 2017 at 1:31 pm

    Kansas is about a year ahead of the rest of the country on the resistance front. The last election was all about Brownback’s insane tax plan, and the fight has been about repealing it this week. Moderates and Democrats won back a bunch of seats in November. It wasn’t quite enough, but people are fired up about schools and roads. I got phone calls for statehouse races for the first time in 25 years. Lines were out the door and around the block for Rep. Yoder’s last open house – now he’s doing a telephone town hall tonight. When you want to blame the stupidity of Kansas voters, remember that Kris Kobach has been working on his voter suppression and cheating efforts here for years. This is also the home of Koch Industries. They realized years ago that a few hundred dollars in Garden City and Paola could swing statehouse races, and they’ve been doing that for years. It’s taken a lot of fighting back to make progress against the powerful forces against us, but we’ve made a lot of progress and there’s more enthusiasm than ever here. There was a “town hall” yesterday for our missing reps. Yoder said he couldn’t make it, and was spotted at a KU basketball game last night. He’s taking a lot of flack for it on his Facebook page today.

  59. 59.

    DemJayhawks

    February 23, 2017 at 1:42 pm

    I don’t blame any of you for not paying attention to what’s going on in my state beyond snickering at our obvious problems. What you’ve missed, however, is the backlash against Brownback that first manifested itself in the 2014 state elections. It picked up strength in the 2016 elections where many of members of Brownback’s faction were either primaried by “moderate” R’s or lost to D challengers. In my area, we went from two D’s in the state house to six. Several of the nastiest R’s in my area lost their primaries.

    The biggest changes were in the house, which is why you’ve seen the budget and ACA expansion votes. The senate didn’t change enough, but no one said this was going to be easy. The state lege knows it is in a deep budgetary hole, and Brownback and his allies from previous sessions have pretty much raided every source of money they can.

    Snicker if you will, but I’d suggest that while my state has provided a sterling example of the failure of R policies, we might also provide some guidance on how to go about fighting and reversing them.

  60. 60.

    DemJayhawks

    February 23, 2017 at 1:44 pm

    @Gretchen: Gretchen, I’m glad you wrote something. I know from other Kansas posts that you and I live in the same area, and I had hoped you would chime in.

  61. 61.

    tybee

    February 23, 2017 at 1:59 pm

    @thafax:

    you might want to pay attention to what North Carolina laws were enacted over the past year or so, the boycotts (particularly the sports) on N.C. and what the Governor of Georgia “Shady” Deal had to say about the religious freedom act that was proposed in Georgia

    boycotts DO matter.

  62. 62.

    ToocanAnj

    February 23, 2017 at 2:10 pm

    @Gretchen: @DemJayhawks:

    I grew up in Salina and have been so sad to see what has happened in government in the state. It’s so good to read confirmation that things are changing. Keep up the great work!

  63. 63.

    ? Martin

    February 23, 2017 at 3:03 pm

    @low-tech cyclist:

    The other thing is, if the GOP Congress block-grants Medicaid, how much Medicaid funding each state gets now will almost surely be figured in some way into the baseline for the size of each state’s block grant. So taking the Medicaid expansion now is a way of staking a claim to a bigger share of the block-grant pie later.

    This. Kansas is desperate for money and they’re going to grab all the welfare they can get because they’re too lazy to build a real economy.

  64. 64.

    Jado

    February 23, 2017 at 3:56 pm

    Even if they are turning on Brownback, none of it will matter unless every new bill is titled “The New Bill to Fix What Brownback Screwed Up”

    Unless EVERY SINGLE BAD THING IN KANSAS in hung around Brownback’s neck, he will end up being a great success in the alternate history of the GOP.

    Kind of how W is slowly being rehabilitated in GOP circles…

  65. 65.

    Groucho48

    February 23, 2017 at 9:15 pm

    @? Martin:

    Well, unfortunately for them, and for all the states with expanded Medicaid, Congress is working on a plan that gives states block grants based only on the basic Medicaid population, not on expanded Medicaid people. Can’t give those blue states any more money than we absolutely have to, don’t you know…

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