TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A health care bill that provides a year's worth of state
aid to poor families to help them buy insurance won first-round approval Monday
in the House.
The measure also includes provisions designed to make insurance less costly
for workers who already have it and to make sure that Kansans can keep their
existing coverage longer when they lose or change jobs.
But it's not the sweeping package of 21 initiatives proposed by the Kansas
Health Policy Authority and endorsed by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. And senators,
who passed their own bill last week, voted against the insurance subsidies for
poor families.
House members advanced their bill on a voice vote, and final action is
expected Tuesday. Negotiators for the two chambers will draft the final version
of a health care bill.
The House bill was the product of a compromise between Democratic leaders,
who want to guarantee that the state starts providing aid to poor families, and
Republican leaders, who were nervous about the potential cost in future years.
"It's a positive step forward," said House Minority Leader Dennis McKinney,
a Greensburg Democrat.
Despite the scope of the Health Policy Authority's plan, which would phase
in a $330 million increase in spending on health programs over five years, some
Republicans thought it lacked important elements.
For example, they want to simplify rules under which small companies can set
up health insurance plans so that employees deduct their share of the premiums
from their incomes for tax purposes. Such a setup effectively cuts the cost of
insurance for workers by 15 percent, but it can be complicated for businesses.
The bill contains those provisions, as well as one mandating that employers
offer workers who leave their jobs the same health insurance coverage for 18
months, if those former workers pick up the entire cost. State law mandates six
months now.
"This is a big step forward on those issues," said Rep. Jeff Colyer, an
Overland Park Republican and surgeon who's heavily involved in health care
issues.
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