By RACHEL MIPRO Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — Rep. Tobias Schlingensiepen, a Topeka Democrat and pastor, pointed to a parable from the Gospel of Matthew to question why his fellow Christian lawmakers aren’t working to expand Medicaid.
Schlingensiepen said the parable describes the importance of charity. He said he uses the gospel when navigating legislative decisions but is not sure his colleagues do the same.
“One of the things that one learns rather crassly in the statehouse, is that there is no paucity of Christian believers who support their faith in all kinds of ways while turning around and supporting policies, egregiously supporting policies without any explanation, that fly in the face of this most solemn criterion,” Schlingensiepen said during a Tuesday event on Medicaid expansion.
He joined several other faith leaders from different religions, covering different areas of the state, to voice support for Medicaid expansion. Other clergy members have previously advocated for expansion ahead of the upcoming legislative session.
As the session approaches, Medicaid expansion has become the subject of renewed political debate, especially due to Gov. Laura Kelly’s months-long efforts in touring the state to advocate for it.
Medicaid expansion would allow an estimated 150,000 Kansans with low incomes to gain access to medical care and unlock $700 million in annual federal funding. The federal funding could also help support 59 of the state’s rural hospitals that are at risk of closure.
To qualify for the current state-run Medicaid program, called KanCare, a person must be either under 19 or over 64, pregnant, or mentally or physically disabled. Caregivers are also eligible. Besides these requirements, the individual must be below a certain income level. A single mother with a child at home would have to make at or below $7,493.60 a year to qualify.
Republican leadership in the Legislature have said they will not support expansion, as it would “expand the welfare state.”
During Tuesday’s event, Sister Therese Bangert, from the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, emphasized the importance of human dignity, saying that “having health care is part of that dignity.”
She asked attendees to pray for lawmakers.
“Please raise your voices with us and pray for these legislators on their journey ahead,” Bangert said. “On this issue and all the issues.”
Saaliha Khan of Kansas Interfaith Action called continued inaction on Medicaid expansion an “injustice.”
“Our faith traditions, including Islam, teaches us to help alleviate suffering, not to contribute to suffering,” Khan said. “To help care for those who are the most vulnerable among us and not the other way around.”
The Rev. Bobby Love, a pastor at the Second Baptist Church of Olathe, mentioned ongoing efforts in the faith community to advocate for Medicaid expansion. A candlelight vigil at the Statehouse is set for late January, and several bike ride awareness events are also in the works, among other plans.
“Let us be continuous with our care, compassion and concern for those of our Kansans who fall in this gap,” Love said.