(Jan. 24, 2024) – The Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee, chaired by Senator Beverly Gossage (R-Eudora), discussed bill introductions including the constitutional Right to Health Freedom Act and the Right to Refuse Act.

At the beginning of the meeting, members expressed they had been contacted with requests for hearings on Medicaid expansion and asked if the chair had any plans to hold hearings. The chair indicated she did not have an interest in holding hearings on the topic.

The committee also heard updates on the Kansas Guardianship program. The staff gave an overview of agency budget requests and the governor's budget recommendations. The committee then heard from Jean Krahn, executive director of the Kansas Guardianship Program who gave an agency overview and briefed the committee on outstanding items.

The committee will meet again tomorrow to hear a presentation on youth suicide prevention and the 988 suicide hotline. The committee also is slated to deliberate on outstanding agency budgets before them.