By JIM MCLEAN

The stakes run high for 130,000-some low-income Kansans who stand to gain from expanding Medicaid coverage — and for the political players who will decide the contentious issue.

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly made expansion a centerpiece of the election that put her in office. Two Republican leaders — Senate President Susan Wagle and Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning — could see their elevation to higher office also turn on the issue.

Signing an expansion bill into law after six years contentious debate would be a big win for the Democratic governor. Getting there will test her skills at matching wits with the Republican-controlled Legislature.

“That’s a four-year victory,” said Washburn University political scientist Bob Beatty. “You can run for reelection on that.”

So it’s not surprising, he said, that Republican leaders work overtime to prevent that or at least delay it by a year.

“Republicans are clearly a little bit afraid of handing such a huge victory to her right off the bat,” Beatty said.

That’s particularly true for Wagle. She stands among several Republicans eyeing the U.S. Senate held by Pat Roberts, who has announced he won’t seek reelection in 2020.

Wagle has emerged as Kelly’s main antagonist, fighting her on issues ranging from taxes to Medicaid expansion and quickly jumping on her administration’s missteps, including its insufficient vetting of an appeals court nominee.

When the governor called a news conference Tuesday to chastise Senate leaders for blocking consideration of a Medicaid expansion bill that passed the House two weeks ago — like a similar measure two years earlier that fell to a Republican governor’s veto — Wagle responded within minutes.

“The governor just called for the Senate to pass a bill that (Vermont senator and liberal presidential candidate) Bernie Sanders, a socialist, endorsed,” Wagle said. “That’s not going to happen in the Kansas Senate.”

Wagle’s all-out opposition to Kelly’s agenda may not be a productive legislative strategy, Beatty said, but it’s a smart political move.

“She doesn’t have to win,” he said. “But she has to be seen as fighting. That’s what Republican primary voters are going to want in the U.S. Senate.”

Denning faces different stakes. The Overland Park Republican represents a Senate district that’s transitioning politically. Kelly won it in her race against conservative Republican Kris Kobach and independent Greg Orman.

Kelly didn’t hesitate to point out that fact at a recent town hall meeting in the district that she said Denning “politely” declined to attend.

Conventional political wisdom suggests that Denning can’t oppose Kelly at every turn if he wants to survive the next election and succeed Wagle as Senate president.

Speaking on background, some Senate Republicans say Denning has acknowledged to them that the passage of Medicaid expansion is a question of when, not if.

That assessment could be the reason for a subtle but potentially meaningful change in GOP tactics.

Instead of simply refusing to consider expansion — as they’ve often done in recent years — Senate leaders are now calling for a summer study of the issue. That would mean a series of hearings that could result in a compromise bill, one more palatable to conservatives opposed to extending taxpayer-funded coverage to tens of thousands of non-disabled adults.

Any bill to emerge from those hearings, Wagle said, would look “very different than the one that (recently) passed the House.”

Among other things, it would likely set a lower eligibility threshold and require beneficiaries to work, submit to drug testing and pay premiums for their coverage, she said.

Kelly said she’s willing to compromise — on premiums for example – but has no interest in waiting until next session.

“When it comes to Medicaid expansion, study is a code word for stall,” she said.

“The time for blocking progress has long since passed,” she said. “Kansans want Medicaid expansion and they want it now.”

By now, Kelly means by the end of the week when lawmakers are scheduled to adjourn for roughly three weeks before returning May 1 for a brief wrap-up session.

While she’s not willing to endorse an interim study, Kelly said she would grudgingly go along if lawmakers wanted to spend their April break hammering out a deal for her to consider.

“I’d take that compromise,” she said.

The governor’s bill would extend Medicaid coverage to Kansans making about one-third more than the federal poverty level — $17,236 for an individual or $35,535 for a family of four.

Expansion would cover many Kansans who currently make too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to be eligible for federal subsidies that largely cover the cost of private health insurance in the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, marketplace.

Kelly’s budget office estimates the state’s share of expansion costs in the first full year would be about $34 million.

Other estimates run higher. One compiled recently by the Kansas Health Institute, a non-profit health policy think tank, puts the cost at $41.7 million.

New research done by economists at Kansas State University suggests that a spike in state tax revenue triggered by the infusion of nearly $1 billion in additional federal funds would nearly cover the state’s share of expansion costs.

Jim McLean is the senior correspondent for the Kansas News Service. You can reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks. 

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say three children were found in a Columbia man’s car after he broke into a home, crashed the vehicle and kicked at arresting officers.

28-year-old Adrian Bradshaw was charged Thursday with first-degree burglary and five other felonies. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.

Charging documents say that during the break-in, he got into an altercation with someone in the home. Authorities say he then fled, hitting two mailboxes before going off the side of a road and crashing into a tree.

After he was taken into custody, officers found the three children in his car, along with methamphetamine and a loaded handgun. A woman in the passenger seat told authorities that Bradshaw forced her to carry 2 grams of cocaine.

OKLAHOMA CITY –  A man who is co-owner of Vape Shops in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma has been charged by complaint with hiring someone to commit murder, according to First Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.

According to an affidavit in support of an arrest warrant filed in federal court Thursday, Vernon Wayne Brock, 69, of Alva, OK., hired a Kansas resident to commit a murder in Oklahoma City.  The individual from Kansas is alleged to have contacted the FBI and cooperated in the investigation.

The affidavit states that Brock and the individual from Kansas are partners in 17 vape shops in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma and that Brock was upset with a former vape shop employee who refused to continue a sexual relationship with him.  Brock allegedly wanted the individual from Kansas to arrange the murder of the former employee’s boyfriend in Oklahoma City in exchange for $5,000.

According to the affidavit, Brock identified the boyfriend by sending a picture to the individual from Kansas and confirming “that’s the guy we want dead.”  The affidavit includes several alleged quotes by Brock from recorded conversations between Brock and the individual from Kansas, including:

• “Are they going to thump her around a little bit?  And do him?  Cause that’s what I wanted.”
• “I’d rather do him, thump her and I mean thump her hard.  And tell her if she says one word to the cops about anything there will be someone come back to get her . . . .”
• “The main thing is for them to throw the scent off of everything.  . . .  What they want to say to him is, . . . you didn’t pay us for our drugs or something like that, and you owe us a million dollars, then pop, before he has anything to say either way.”

FBI agents arrested Brock on the afternoon of April 3, with the assistance of the Woods County Sheriff’s Office, after Brock delivered a $5,000 check to the individual from Kansas at a café in Harper, Kansas.  Brock appeared Thursday afternoon for an initial appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Shon T. Erwin.

If found guilty of murder-for-hire, Brock faces a potential penalty of ten years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release.

WASHINGTON —A Kansas congresswoman has been appointed to a leadership position in the House Transportation Committee.

On Thursday, Chair of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) announced Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS) will serve as Vice Chair of the Subcommittee on Aviation in the 116th Congress, according to a media release.

The Subcommittee on Aviation has jurisdiction over all aspects of civil aviation, including safety, infrastructure, labor, and international issues.

“In just the first few months of the new Congress, Representative Davids has made outstanding contributions to our Committee, and I am honored she agreed to take on this new role,” said DeFazio. “As Vice Chair, Representative Davids will play a key role as the Committee not only continues its work to ensure the safety of our Nation’s airspace, but also as we work to improve our critical airport infrastructure, create good-paying aviation jobs across the country, and integrate new users and technologies that will shape the future of U.S. aviation.”

We are pleased to announce that @RepDavids has been selected to serve as Vice Chair of the Subcommittee on Aviation. In this position, she will play a key role in working to ensure the safety of our Nation’s airspace, improving critical airport infrastructure, and more. pic.twitter.com/8w6Gn9ugFg

— Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (@TransportDems) April 4, 2019

“I look forward to working with Rep. Davids in her role as Vice Chair of the Aviation Subcommittee. Rep. Davids represents the hardworking women and men at the FAA Kansas City Air Route Traffic Control Center, a critical component of the U.S. aviation system. Her input will be invaluable as the Committee works on a forward-looking aviation and aerospace agenda to ensure aviation safety, foster innovation in U.S. airspace, improve U.S. competitiveness in the global marketplace, and enhance the air travel experience for passengers,” said Larsen.

Davids also led action on the House floor Thursday.

Re-authorizing the Violence Against Women Act will help ensure that all survivors of violence and abuse can receive the support, protection, and justice they deserve.

I was honored to preside over the House Floor as we passed this historic piece of legislation. pic.twitter.com/0loDKapA1f

— Rep. Sharice Davids (@RepDavids) April 4, 2019

“Aviation is a vital part of our transportation system and economy in Kansas and across the country. I’m honored to be named vice-chair of the Aviation Subcommittee at this critical time,” said Rep. Sharice Davids. “I look forward to working on ways we can maintain the highest safety standards in the world, capitalize on new and developing technology, and find strategies to mitigate climate change.”

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — He was 13 years old and playing in a barn in rural Kansas City when he accidentally scraped himself on a rusty nail. A few days later, he was too weak to walk and began having the excruciating muscle spasms that come with contracting tetanus.

Christelle Ilboudo, a pediatrician and pediatric infectious diseases expert at MU Health Care, distinctly remembers the day the boy’s family brought him in to be evaluated.

At first the family thought it was just a virus of some kind. His whole body was stiff, and he had a fever. They finally decided to make him an appointment one morning when he tried walking to their bedroom and collapsed to the floor, Ilboudo explained.

The boy hadn’t been vaccinated, the Columbia Missourian reported.

“He luckily survived, but one vaccination could have prevented that — like so many other diseases we are beginning to see again,” Ilboudo said.

The reappearance in the U.S. of diseases that were once thought to be eradicated, specifically, measles, has prompted national alarm and calls for more action by the federal government to urge vaccination.

On March 13, a measles case was confirmed in eastern Missouri due to out-of-state exposure. It was not confirmed whether the person had been vaccinated.

The World Health Organization announced vaccine hesitancy as one of the 10 threats to global health in 2019. The organization identified complacency, inconvenience in accessing vaccines and lack of confidence as key reasons underlying hesitancy.

According to the United Health Foundation, Missouri ranked 21st alongside Alabama for vaccination rates of children ages 19 months to just under age 3. This is the age range when the measles, mumps and rubella vaccination is first administered.

Among the recommended vaccinations is the MMR vaccine, which protects against the three viral diseases. They typically affect younger children and can be dangerous due to how fast they spread.

Measles can be identified by a pinpoint rash, and if not treated, can lead to pneumonia, brain inflammation, seizures and permanent brain damage, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In data collected by the CDC, there has been an annual increase in measles cases. Last year, 15 states, Missouri included, reported a total of 372 measles cases. As of March 14, the same states reported 268 cases.

The CDC also reported that a majority of the 2018 cases came from international travel. That year had the greatest number of imported cases since measles was eliminated from the U.S. in 2000.

Although more cases are being reported nationwide, states are taking stances that vary across the board.

In Missouri, two bills were introduced this year that would eliminate the religious belief exemption and allow minors to consent to vaccinations. In response, another two bills were introduced in opposition that would prohibit discrimination against children who are not vaccinated in medical settings and require medical practitioners to provide informational paperwork to parents prior to vaccination.

All 50 states allow some K-12 medical vaccination exemptions; 47 states allow religious exemptions; and 17 states allow personal belief exemptions. Missouri allows both medical and religious exemptions but not personal belief exemptions for K-12. However, Missouri law does allow a parental exemption at any preschool, day care or nursery school if the parent or guardian files a written objection with the day care administrator.

In the 17 states that allow for personal belief exemptions, it can be as simple as a box check for parents.

Meanwhile, measles outbreaks are increasing among unvaccinated children, specifically in Washington and Texas. These are two of 17 states that allow for personal belief exemptions.

In late February, an Arizona legislative panel voted to expand its exemption list, making it easier for parents to opt out.

In an interview with NPR, Jessica Rigler, branch chief of public health preparedness at Arizona’s department of health services, said more than 5,000 kindergartners in the state could fall sick with measles if there were an outbreak.

There is also new, additional evidence that parents’ fear of vaccine safety is unfounded.

The results of a 10-year Danish study of 10,000 children, released on March 5, validated the results of a 2002 study that found no relationship between MMR vaccination and autism. The link has been debunked repeatedly since a now discredited and retracted 1998 study published in The Lancet linking the vaccine to autism. The doctor who conducted the study later lost his license for “irresponsible and dishonest” actions.

In a phone interview, Anders Peter Hviid, head epidemiologist in the recent study, talked about why his team decided to repeat their earlier research.

“Given the worrying trend in vaccine hesitancy, we felt that it was worth revisiting the link in a larger cohort with more follow-up time and also address some of the anti-vaxxer criticisms of our 2002 study,” Hviid said.

“I feel passionate about good science and reason,” he said. “Vaccination is the reasonable choice based on the vast majority of scientific evidence.”

One of the questions that concerned parents had was related to the age the vaccination was administered and the relationship it appeared to have with the age autism symptoms presented.

Parents are told to get their children vaccinated with MMR between 12 and 15 months old. That’s about the time that parents will begin to notice the regression in developmental milestones that might signal autism, Ilboudo said.

That prompts parents to make a causal connection, “even though (the study) was discredited, parents accept it as an explanation to a question no one has the answer to,” Ilboudo said.

Major websites like Facebook, Pinterest and Google have taken steps toward removing vaccine misinformation online in response to repeated posts that promoted false information about vaccines.

On March 4, the president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Kyle E. Yasuda, called upon the chief executives of Google, Facebook and Pinterest, “to work together to combat the dangerous spread of vaccine misinformation online.”

Facebook released a blog post stating its plan of action.

For now, the problem persists. Anti-vaccination groups are still appearing in searches, the opposite of what was described in the blog.

A spokesperson on behalf of Instagram and Facebook announced on March 21 to the public that this is going to be a “long-term commitment.”

The key is getting parents who read misinformation online to stop sharing the content and if there is a concern, to get them off the internet and engaged in an honest conversation with their child’s health care provider.

But, it can be tricky.

Ultimately, Ilboudo said, building trust between parents and health care providers could reverse the trend. The key is asking the parent what their specific concerns are and addressing them with scientific evidence.

“It’s about having an honest conversation with your doctor,” Ilboudo said. “We don’t profit off of vaccinations — we recommend them because we believe it is the best choice to prolong the child’s life.”

By JOHN HANNA 

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ new Democratic governor promised on the campaign trail to end a protracted lawsuit over education funding by increasing state spending on public schools, and the Republican-led Legislature approved her proposal Thursday evening.

It may not be enough.

An attorney for the local school districts suing the state certainly doesn’t think so, and his clients have won before the Kansas Supreme Court repeatedly. Even some legislators who backed Gov. Laura Kelly’s plan for an increase of roughly $90 million a year think they’ll be discussing another Supreme Court order to boost funding again next year. Others are hopeful the court will sign off, but no one is dead certain.

“Worst-case scenario, all it does is buy us another year,” said Rep. Jim Ward, a Wichita Democrat who serves on a House education funding committee. “Best-case scenario is the court says, ‘That’s a good faith effort and we’ll monitor the case over the next few years.'”

The House voted 76-47 to approve a bill containing Kelly’s funding proposal, and the Senate approved it on a 31-8vote. The measure ties the new money to several education policy changes favored by GOP lawmakers, including a requirement for a new one-page online performance report on each public school.

The #ksleg took an important step today towards addressing the needs of our students, supporting our teachers and fully funding our schools. I’m proud this reasonable commonsense plan was embraced with bipartisan support today. Kansans want us to work together to move KS forward.

— Governor Laura Kelly (@GovLauraKelly) April 4, 2019

Kelly said the bill’s passage is “an important step” toward addressing students’ needs, supporting teachers and “fully funding our schools.” It’s also her biggest legislative victory since taking office in January after campaigning last year as a bipartisan problem-solver.

“By investing in our local schools, we can ensure that all Kansas children — no matter who they are or where they live — have the opportunity to succeed,” Kelly said in a statement after the bill cleared the Legislature.

The four school districts sued Kansas in 2010, and the state Supreme Court has issued six rulings directing lawmakers to increase the state’s spending in a little more than five years, so that aid to public schools now tops $4 billion a year. The court said in an order last year that a 2018 law promising additional funding increases into the future wasn’t sufficient because it hadn’t accounted for inflation.

The court gave the state’s attorneys until April 15 to file a written report on lawmakers’ response. The key legal question is whether the state is spending enough money for lawmakers to meet an obligation under the Kansas Constitution to finance a suitable education for every child.

The school districts’ attorneys also must file their own assessment April 15. John Robb, one of their attorneys, said Thursday evening that the districts will argue that the state’s funding isn’t adequate after the 2019-2020 school year.

The districts argue that accounting for inflation is a straightforward math problem that requires increasingly larger amounts of money each year through the 2022-23 school year. Under their calculations, the increase for that year would be about $360 million instead of the roughly $90 million under Kelly’s proposal.

“I think the court will recognize that they didn’t reach the target,” Robb said. “We think the court is going to say, ‘The math doesn’t work.'”

Past Supreme Court rulings came with an implied threat that the justices could shut down schools if legislators did not comply. But Robb said that’s unlikely now, because the 2019-20 school year is adequately covered.

Some Republicans, particularly conservatives, question whether the state will be able to sustain even Kelly’s new spending without a future tax increase. GOP leaders also pushed a tax relief bill designed to prevent individuals and businesses from paying more in state income taxes because of changes in federal tax laws at the end of 2017, which the governor vetoed.

Most Senate Republicans lined up behind Kelly’s plan last month after the school districts suing the state initially supported it, then withdrew their endorsement and called for higher spending after the 2019-20 school year. House GOP leaders wanted to earmark much of the new money to programs for at-risk students but relented Wednesday when it became clear senators would not budge in negotiations.

Backers of the bill hope a show of bipartisan support will persuade the Supreme Court to find Kelly’s plan acceptable.

“For now, what we have before us is what I believe to be our best response for the courts,” said Sen. Molly Baumgardner, a Kansas City-area Republican and the chairwoman of a school funding committee.

___

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A 28-year-old man from Gasconade County was sentenced to 25 years in prison for taking nude pictures of a 6-year-old.

Michael Foster, of Owensville, was sentenced Wednesday for taking nude pictures of the boy and sharing them with an undercover police officer in Australia.

Foster’s home was searched in March 2018 after police contacted Homeland Security. His plea says investigators found nude pictures of children on Foster’s computers, a thumb drive and cellphone.

Foster also admitted possessing other images containing child porn.

He pleaded guilty in December to two counts of producing child pornography and one count of transporting child porn.

Prosecutors agreed to recommend 30 years in prison and Foster’s lawyer agreed to recommend 25 years.