¶ Overview
In 2018, Kris Kobach proposed imposing work requirements for Medicaid recipients in Kansas, saying it was “time to move people off welfare into jobs.” Kobach’s support for Medicaid work requirements aligned with Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” and its work requirements that were projected to strip more than 18,000 Medicaid recipients in Kansas of their health insurance by 2034. Additionally, Kobach proposed imposing illegal drug testing requirements for Medicaid recipients in Kansas.
Kobach repeatedly voiced scrutiny and opposition to the Affordable Care Act, claiming the healthcare law was “foisted upon” Americans. In 2026, nearly 193,000 Kansans relied on Affordable Care Act marketplace plans for their health care.
Kobach also opposed Medicaid expansion, even though it could expand access to healthcare for 150,000 Kansans.
¶ Kris Kobach Supported Medicaid Work Requirements That Would Strip Health Insurance Away From Kansans, Like Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill”
¶ Kobach Proposed Imposing Work Requirements For Medicaid Recipients In Kansas, Aligning With The Work Requirements In Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill”
2018: Kobach Proposed Imposing Work Requirements For Medicaid Recipients, Saying It Was “Time To Move People Off Welfare And Into Jobs.” According to Breitbart, “On Wednesday, Kobach — endorsed by President Trump — laid out his welfare reform agenda, which includes saving Kansas taxpayer money by requiring able-bodied Medicaid beneficiaries to work no less than 30 hours a week. The plan will also require drug testing for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — otherwise known as food stamps — recipients and for Medicaid users. ‘It’s time to move people off of welfare and into jobs,’ Kobach said during a press conference.” [Breitbart, 10/17/18]
Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” Imposed Medicaid Work Requirements, Requiring States To Condition Medicaid Eligibility On Meeting Work Requirements. According to KFF, “On July 4, President Trump signed into law a budget reconciliation package once called the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ that includes significant changes to the Medicaid program. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the Medicaid work requirement provisions in the passed budget reconciliation law will be the largest source of Medicaid savings, reducing federal spending by $326 billion over ten years and cause millions to become uninsured. […] The law will require states to condition Medicaid eligibility for adults in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansion group at application and following enrollment on meeting work requirements starting January 1, 2027, with the option for states to implement requirements earlier. Currently, 41 states (including DC) have expanded their Medicaid programs under the ACA to nearly all adults up to 138% FPL ($21,597 for an individual in 2025).” [KFF, 7/30/25]
¶ The “One Big Beautiful Bill” Was Expected To Strip 17 Million Americans Of Their Health Care
HEADLINE: "At Least 17 Million Americans Would Lose Insurance Under Trump Plan" [Washington Post, 7/1/25]
HEADLINE: “By The Numbers: Harmful Republican Megabill Favors The Wealthy And Leaves Millions Of Working Families Behind” [Center On Budget And Policy Priorities, 8/1/25]
HEADLINE: "House Republican Budget Takes Away Health Care, Food Aid To Pay For Expanded Tax Cuts For Wealthy" [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2/21/25]
The Congressional Budget Office Estimated That 11.8 Million People Would Become Uninsured As A Result Of The Medicaid Cuts In Republicans’ Reconciliation Bill. According to the Washington Post, "The bill, which narrowly passed the Senate on Tuesday and now heads back to the House, would effectively accomplish what Republicans have long failed to do: unwind many of the key components of the ACA, President Barack Obama’s signature domestic achievement, which dramatically increased the number of Americans with access to health insurance. To start, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the Senate version of the bill would result in 11.8 million more uninsured in 2034, mostly because of Medicaid cuts, compared with 10.9 million if the House version became law." [Washington Post, 7/1/25]
¶ More Than 88,000 Kansans Were Expected To Lose Health Care Coverage Under Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” Including 18,468 Medicaid Recipients
Under The “One Big Beautiful Bill,” 88,768 Kansans Were Expected To Lose Their Health Care By 2034, Including 70,300 ACA Enrollees And 18,468 Medicaid Recipients. According to the Joint Economic Committee Minority,
| District | State |
Est. # Losing ACA Coverage |
Est. # Losing Medicaid Coverage |
Est. Total # Losing Insurance |
| KS-01 | Kansas |
15,600 |
4,423 |
20,023 |
| KS-02 | Kansas |
17,300 |
5,672 |
22,972 |
| KS-03 | Kansas |
18,100 |
2,753 |
20,853 |
| KS-04 | Kansas |
19,300 |
5,620 |
24,920 |
|
All |
Totals |
70,300 |
18,468 |
88,768 |
[Joint Economic Committee Minority, 6/25]
- The House GOP Budget Bill Was Estimated To Increase The Uninsured Population By 8.6 Million By 2034. According to CNN, “The Medicaid and Affordable Care Act provisions in the package could result in 8.6 million more people being uninsured in 2034, according to an early CBO estimate released by Democratic lawmakers. That number is expected to grow with the latest changes.” [CNN, 5/28/25]
- The House GOP Budget Bill Codified A Trump Administration Proposal That Restricted Access To The Affordable Care Act. According to CNN, “The bill also calls for codifying a Trump administration proposal that would make changes to the Affordable Care Act enrollment process, including shortening the open enrollment period and eliminating the ability of low-income Americans to sign up year-round.” [CNN, 5/28/25]
¶ Kobach Proposed Illegal Drug Testing Requirements For Medicaid Recipients In Kansas
2018: Kobach Proposed Imposing Drug Testing Requirements For Medicaid Recipients. According to Breitbart, “On Wednesday, Kobach — endorsed by President Trump — laid out his welfare reform agenda, which includes saving Kansas taxpayer money by requiring able-bodied Medicaid beneficiaries to work no less than 30 hours a week. The plan will also require drug testing for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — otherwise known as food stamps — recipients and for Medicaid users. ‘It’s time to move people off of welfare and into jobs,’ Kobach said during a press conference.” [Breitbart, 10/17/18]
Federal Medicaid Law Made It Illegal For States To Impose Drug Testing For Medicaid Recipients And Only Congress Could Pass A Law To Create Drug Testing As An Eligibility Requirement. According to Families USA, "Recently, the state of Wisconsin submitted an application to the federal government seeking Medicaid waiver authority to make drug testing a condition of eligibility for the state’s adult Medicaid program–BadgerCare. This request breaks dangerous new ground; drug testing has never been allowed as part of the application process in the Medicaid program. That’s because it is illegal, it will make it harder for everyone applying for Medicaid, and it will hurt rather than help those with substance use disorders. Drug testing in Medicaid is illegal. Period. There is no way around it—it simply isn’t legal to test people for drugs as a condition of Medicaid eligibility; not even close. Medicaid law spells out the eligibility factors that allow someone to qualify for the program. Section 1115 of the Social Security Act allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to waive certain rules surrounding Medicaid eligibility, as long as they ‘promote the objectives,’ that is, advance the purposes, of the Medicaid program. The objective of the Medicaid program is to provide health care to low-income people who need it. Deciding whether someone can get Medicaid based on whether they receive a drug test isn’t waiving an eligibility requirement, it’s creating a new one. Only Congress can make that kind of fundamental change in the Medicaid program, not the Secretary of HHS." [Families USA, 12/5/17]
¶ Kris Kobach Opposed The Affordable Care Act And Medicaid Expansion, Even Though Nearly 193,000 Kansans Relied On ACA Plans For Their Healthcare
¶ Kobach Opposed The Affordable Care Act, Despite Nearly 193,000 Kansans Relying On Affordable Care Act Plans For Their Health Insurance
2019: Kobach Claimed The Affordable Care Act Was “Foisted Upon” Americans And Claimed The Act Made Healthcare More Expensive. According to Breitbart, “In an exclusive interview with SiriusXM Patriot’s Breitbart News Daily, Kobach said that while 2020 Democrats are now promising free healthcare to illegal aliens, American citizens were forced to buy expensive plans through Obamacare or risk being fined. ‘Compare [Democrats offering free healthcare to illegal aliens] to the way they want to treat Americans and U.S. citizens,’ Kobach said. ‘We were told by the Democrats when Obamacare was foisted upon us that we are going to be taxed unless we buy their very expensive healthcare, which was made more expensive by President Obama’s Obamacare policy. And so U.S. citizens, we have to pay a big, big bill … if we don’t pay a big bill in health insurance. So that shows the contrast and treatment.’” [Breitbart, 7/31/19]
2021: Kobach Claimed The Affordable Care Act “Oversteps The Commerce Power,” Arguing The Healthcare Law Was “Actually Regulating People Who Chose Not To Make A Commercial Transaction.” According to Kris Kobach’s Twitter, “The OSHA mandate oversteps the commerce power for the same reason that Obamacare did: the federal government cannot claim that it is regulating commerce when it is actually regulating people who chose not to make a commercial transaction. #ksleg”
[Twitter, @KrisKobach1787, 11/12/21]
- Kobach Cited Justice Robert’s Opinion In The Affordable Care Act Case, Claiming That Congress’ Use Of The Commerce Clause For The Healthcare Law Would “Open A New And Potentially Vast Domain To Congressional Authority.” According to Kris Kobach’s column from Breitbart, "The vaccine mandate oversteps the commerce power for the same reason that Obamacare did: the federal government cannot claim that it is regulating commerce when it is actually regulating people who chose not to make a commercial transaction, in this case the subsidized purchase of a vaccine. As Chief Justice Roberts wrote for the Supreme Court majority in the Obamacare case, NFIB v. Sebelius: ‘Construing the Commerce Clause to permit Congress to regulate individuals precisely because they are doing nothing would open a new and potentially vast domain to congressional authority. Every day individuals do not do an infinite number of things.’" [Kris Kobach Column – Breitbart, 11/10/21]
¶ 2026: Nearly 193,000 Kansans Enrolled In An Affordable Care Act Marketplace Plan
2026: 192,811 Kansans Were Enrolled In An Affordable Care Act Marketplace Plans. According to KFF, in 2026, there were 192,811 individuals enrolled in Affordable Care Act marketplace plans in Kansas.
[KFF, Accessed 5/1/26]
¶ Kobach Opposed Medicaid Expansion In Kansas, Even Though It Could Provide Healthcare Coverage To Nearly 150,000 Kansans
2018: Kobach Opposed Medicaid Expansion In Kansas, Claiming It Would “Deliver Another Backbreaking Tax Increase To Kansans,” And Called For Allowing For “Low Deductible Catastrophic Insurance.” According to Kris Kobach’s Twitter, “Medicaid expansion will deliver another backbreaking tax increase to Kansans. My plan includes direct primary care and low deductible catastrophic insurance. This will provide more options and save money.”
[Twitter, @KrisKobach1787, 10/25/18]
2018: Kobach Claimed “Obamacare Expansion Will Bankrupt The State.” According to Kris Kobach’s Twitter, “Direct primary care will improve outcomes and allow you to choose your doctor. Obamacare expansion will bankrupt the state. We need Kansas solutions, not Washington, DC solutions. #TeamKobach #RemainRed #ksleg #ksgov”
[Twitter, @KrisKobach1787, 9/8/18]
Democratic Kansas Governor Kelly’s Medicaid Expansion Proposal Would Enable Healthcare Coverage To 150,000 Kansans. According to NPR, "It's Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly's sixth year campaigning for Medicaid expansion and facing Republican opposition. Now she's appealing directly to voters. 'If we do not get Medicaid expanded this session,' she recently told reporters, 'then I would hope that they make it the number one issue going into the November 2024 election and that they hold their representatives accountable.' Her office says the proposal would enable an estimated 150,000 more Kansans to enroll in the health care program." [NPR, 4/22/24]
¶ The Affordable Care Act Allowed States To Expand Medicaid, Which Dramatically Lowered The Uninsured Rate Among Low-Income Workers
The Affordable Care Act Allowed States To Expand Medicaid, And States That Expanded Medicaid Dramatically Lowered The Number Of People Without Health Insurance. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, "The Affordable Care Act (ACA) permits states to expand Medicaid coverage to adults with incomes up to 138 percent of the poverty level (about $20,780 annually for an individual or $35,630 for a family of three). States that have adopted the expansion have dramatically lowered their uninsured rates. Extensive research finds that the people who gained coverage have grown healthier and more financially secure, while long-standing racial inequities in health outcomes, coverage, and access to care have shrunk." [Center On Budget And Policy Priorities, 6/14/24]
- The Uninsured Rate Among Low-Income Workers Fell From 38 Percent In 2013 To 17 Percent In 2022, Which Coincided With Implementation Of Medicaid Expansion. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, "Millions of workers have gained coverage through Medicaid expansion, including people working in industries that provide critical goods and services such as health care, transportation, grocery stores, food manufacturers, and child care. Many have no access to health coverage through their jobs. In expansion states, the uninsured rate among low-income workers fell from 38 percent in 2013 to 17 percent in 2022; this sharp decline coincided with a large increase in the share of low-income workers enrolled in Medicaid.[16] In non-expansion states, the uninsured rate among low-income workers fell much less, from 46 percent to 31 percent. (See Figure 3.)" [Center On Budget And Policy Priorities, 6/14/24]