The Kansas House was right to support a bill expanding the state’s Medicaid program. The Senate should follow suit and also approve the bill.

The House voted 81-44 to support House Bill 2044. The bill would expand eligibility to the Kansas Medicaid program, known as KanCare, to all individuals with incomes up to 133 percent of the poverty level. State officials estimate that would extend coverage to an additional 150,000 people in Kansas.

Currently, Kansas has one of the strictest eligibility requirements for Medicaid of any state. It is available only to pregnant women, children, disabled adults and seniors who meet certain income guidelines. The Affordable Care Act offers federal reimbursement to states to extend Medicaid to those younger than 65 whose family income is at or below 133 percent of federal poverty guidelines.

The federal government paid for 100 percent of the Medicaid expansion for 2014 through 2016. Federal funding dropped to 97 percent this year and will gradually decrease to 90 percent by 2020.

Kansas is among 19 mostly conservative states that have thus far refused to participate in Medicaid expansion out of opposition to Obamacare. Gov. Sam Brownback has said repeatedly that Obamacare is part of the problem in Kansas, not the solution. The governor has blamed Obamacare for cuts in Medicare that he said have been far more devastating to health care in Kansas than any benefits Medicaid expansion could provide.

Brownback has proved he is nothing if not stubborn and so he is likely to veto any Medicaid expansion bill that comes across his desk.

But there is no denying the significant federal funding Kansas has foregone by not expanding Medicaid coverage. The Kansas Hospital Association estimates Kansas has missed out on more than $1.7 billion in federal funds by not participating in expansion since the program began on Jan. 1, 2014.

State Medicaid officials have said that when fully implemented, the bill could add about $56 million a year to the state’s share of Medicaid costs, but it would bring in close to $1 billion a year in additional federal reimbursement.

Opponents of the bill argue, among other things, that expanding Medicaid is pointless because the Affordable Care Act, which makes expansion possible, will soon be repealed and replaced in Washington. But it is becoming clearer that many aspects of the ACA, including Medicaid expansion, are likely to be retained even if the act is repealed.

Expanding Medicaid would provide coverage for more Kansans with most of that coverage paid for by the federal government. Kansas has already missed out on more than $1 billion in support. The Senate should approve House Bill 2044 and put if before the governor.