From Thursday to Sunday late night, I spent my efforts traveling the state, visiting hospitals rural and metro, talking to them about the need for Medicaid expansion. Small communities dotting Western and Central Kansas noted the pressing problem and highlighted issues that had gone by the wayside in the state house.
While state house Republicans argued about the unfair nature of providing healthcare to “able-bodied” members — a dog whistle of an attack designed to say some people are lazy — many medical centers pointed out that the majority of services used are by those who would be considered able-bodied; but they still need attention.
In multiple medical facilities, ongoing treatment for Diabetes, post-op care, and long-term care units were high priority. They helped string the towns together.
But today, the Kansas House voted to override the Governor’s veto, and the final vote 81 in favor of override and 44 against, fell three votes short of the necessary number to put Medicaid Expansion on the books in the state.
As I toured the facilities from Johnson City to Liberal and elsewhere, I was reminded of how our state, like many, face a question that extends far beyond the simplistic answer of who gets coverage and, if you believe Kansas Republicans, whether or not they deserve it.
Instead, you get into a debate of how we use our health care, and why health care coverage and access impacts all of us. I probably could have expected walking in and out of so many hospitals on tours might not be the most positive thing for my health. By 10 O’Clock Sunday night, after driving a six-hour stint straight, I got out of a car and felt like death. I figured, hey, this will pass. Rather than do something immediate about it, I drank some Gatorade, took some Tylenol or something similar and just assumed I was tired. Since I couldn’t get to sleep, I took a portion of my evening to work on outstanding work projects — I figured, play through the pain, it would get better.
By the morning, though, with no sleep in a day, I knew that wasn’t going to change. Fortunately for me, a hospital was nearby, ready to take me in. A few bags of saline, some zofran, pain meds and a draw to determine some issues and I was told I’d be held for a few hours while things settled down and then I could go on my way.
As I lay in a hospital bed — that’s my photo above — I spent my time contacting legislators, friends, allies and those opposed, urging positive votes on Medicaid expansion. While I was fortunate this morning to get good care in a timely manner, in many communities, hospitals and health care systems hang in the balance.
Touring Southwest Kansas Medical Center in Liberal, Kansas on Saturday, it was made clear to me that the current path that our state was on wouldn’t necessarily be sustainable. Many smaller community hospitals didn’t do surgery, but they provided continuing care for those who had been through one. Those small hospitals took the burden off rural major centers, and without them, there was uncertainty as to what would happen next.
Rep. Francis, who represents the majority minority district, refused to take calls. Repeated tries from multiple lines including contacts through the hospital and community residents were turned away. On Monday morning, he voted no, despite his purported moderate-Republican credentials. “There isn’t enough here for rural communities,” he said, highlighting that too many resources would go into “urban” communities, a petty dog whistle that brings up some of the worst imagery when combined with other Republicans who continued to argue about “able-bodied adults”.
Today, I was nearby to where my health needs could be met quickly, where service was handy. In the face of an over 82% favorable rating by Kansas residents, Kansas representatives who voted no hung their hat on standing by the governor. Had I been elsewhere, I might not have been so fortunate. Health care options could have been more than an hour a way, and a problem that was fixed with drugs and medicine quickly could have been dangerous.
This is the moral dilemma we face, not just a financial one, but a moral one. Is this who we want to be? Is this who we hope to be? When we were young, did we aspire to be the guy that one day made sure that people had a difficult time getting healthcare and were more likely to be sick?
And now, every no vote must live with the consequence.
And for the rest of us, we use this not as a moment to quit, but as a moment to remind ourselves: the fight to protect all Americans is a moral imperative, and remain firmly on the right side of history.