Gov. Sam Brownback has indefinitely extended a ban on expanding Medicaid in Kansas under the federal healthcare overhaul.
Brownback on Friday signed a bill approved by the GOP-dominated Legislature to keep the ban in place. The governor and other Republicans have been strong critics of the 2010 federal healthcare law.
A ban included in budget legislation last year is set to expire in July 2015.
Medicaid provides health coverage for the needy and disabled, and some provisions of the bill require prompt payments to healthcare providers.
Supporters of expanding Medicaid say it would help thousands of Kansans and that the federal government promises to pay most of the cost.
GOP lawmakers consider the health overhaul burdensome and question whether the federal government will keep its funding promise.
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