The Republicans’ Choice: Tax Cuts for the Rich or Health Care for Americans
Last week was brutal for anyone who cares about the future of health insurance for low- and middle-income Americans. On Tuesday, the federal government’s Medicaid funding portals temporarily shut down, sending doctors, patients and hospitals into a panic. The next day, President Trump’s nominee for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., fumbled basic facts about […]
Rural Kansans depend on Medicaid at beginning and end of life. D.C. proposals threaten program.
In the public debate over Medicaid expansion in Kansas, a critical fact often gets lost: Large numbers of residents already depend on the program. What’s more, despite racist stereotypes, those benefiting from the program live mostly in rural areas. A new report from Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families sketches the present system and makes clear […]
Kansas lawmakers can elevate lives of 36,000 kids by funding these meals
About 15 years ago, I was in a meeting with the superintendent of my community’s school district and I asked him why families had to pay for their kids’ meals while at school. If kids are required to attend school and are supplied with all the resources they need for their education, why was a […]
Kansas GOP candidates have suddenly become moderates on abortion. How convenient. How cynical.
I vividly recall the anti-abortion “Summer of Mercy” protests that swallowed Wichita in the summer of 1991. The protesters who blocked access to George Tiller’s clinic made no bones about their stance: Abortion was murder, and they were fighting to save the lives of babies. In the 33 years since, anti-abortion advocates built their movement atop the shoulders of […]
I’m a Republican Kansas OB-GYN. Prasanth Reddy would strip away my patients’ rights
Kansas OB-GYN Prasanth Reddy, a Republican, seeks to strip away patients’ rights. Learn how his stance could impact women’s healthcare in the state. I will never forget where I was on June 24, 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court handed down the fateful Dobbs decision, overturning Roe v. Wade. At the maternal fetal medicine office […]
Follow Kansas’ example: Don’t let politicians strip away your reproductive rights
This month marks the second anniversary of a historic vote that fundamentally changed the narrative around reproductive rights and abortion in America following the fall of Roe v. Wade. It brought a glimmer of hope to millions of Americans of all political stripes at a time of fear and despair. And it came from our […]
Kansas women changed the world in the summer of 2022
Kansas women overwhelmingly voted to protect reproductive rights in 2022—over 100 politicians continue to ignore the will of voters. It was a typical Friday in the summer of 2022. I was driving my daughters to camp, sipping my coffee and listening as they belted lines to yet another Taylor Swift song in the backseat. It […]
Why this conservative Republican hospital CEO supports Medicaid expansion in Kansas
I’ve been a lifelong Republican, born and raised a conservative. I still have a picture of me standing with George W. Bush in a Bass Pro shirt after working at an event for him. Although we were poor, my single mother taught me that work is good for the soul and that anything that disincentivizes […]
