Republican majorities block efforts to expand Medicaid in Georgia and Kansas

By JEFF AMY and JOHN HANNA
Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Georgia and Kansas have shot down attempts by Democrats to expand Medicaid in their states. The two states’ legislative committee voted Thursday. Democrats in Georgia said that GOP leaders in the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature had promised to advance the bill in the Senate. In Kansas, top Republicans in the GOP-supermajority Legislature didn’t promise even a vote in committee on a plan from Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. The Georgia Senate’s Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee rejected an expansion plan on a tie 7-7 vote. In Kansas, the 17-member House health committee refused to advance Kelly’s plan when only its five Democrats voted yes.