Laura Kelly

For five years, the Republican-controlled legislature has thwarted Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's efforts to pass Medicaid expansion, which is overwhelmingly supported by Kansas voters. Kelly is pushing for it once again in the upcoming legislative session, and she hopes it will become a major issue for the 2024 elections.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said more than two-dozen states, including Kansas, failed to conduct renewal assessments properly and consequently disenrolled too many people. Officials say that Medicaid expansion — which GOP lawmakers in Kansas have repeatedly blocked — would have protected some of the patients.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly says her top priority for the 2024 legislative session is passing Medicaid expansion. But the Democratic governor is up against Republican super-majorities in the House and Senate. Kelly spoke on KCUR's Up To Date about how she plans to make it happen.

Many pension-holding public employees in Kansas haven't seen cost-of-living adjustments in decades. Without lawmakers' support, years of higher inflation mean many retirees are seeing the value of their payments vanish. Plus: Climate change is making farming riskier and crop insurance more expensive.

Thousands of retired public employees in Kansas have never seen an increase to their pension pay, and inflation is eating away the value of those payments. Advocates argue the Legislature owes them a boost.

Luring Panasonic to Kansas with $830 million of incentives was considered a major victory for the state. But as the company builds its $4 billion plant in De Soto, it’s unclear if state lawmakers will even allow another mega-project package.

Gov. Laura Kelly and Attorney General Kris Kobach are battling over the alteration of gender markers on key documents.

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach sued Gov. Laura Kelly over dueling interpretations of a law restricting transgender Kansans’ ability to change their gender on state IDs.

New laws that went into effect this month in Kansas could have a significant impact on the lives of residents. But some may still face the scrutiny of a court challenge.

The Kansas Medicaid disenrollment rate is one of the highest in the country. Almost two-thirds of Kansans have lost coverage due to procedural issues.

In January, a Parkville family learned their 8-year-old daughter had a rare illness. Though there is no cure, there is a drug that could help slow the disease. The problem? It costs more than $200,000 a year. Plus: Kansas politicians make bold claims about how to stop population declines in rural communities. Their efforts may not be enough to reverse the trend.

Forces pushing rural decline are much bigger than state incentives and small-town organizing.