What appeared to be a quick response from the Kasnas House to Thursday morning's veto of the Medicaid expansion by Gov. Sam Brownback has stalled.

Shortly after the governor rejected the proposed expansion to KanCare, House members began debating whether to override that veto. Late in the morning, though, they voted overwhelmingly (81-43) to table the effort.

They now have up to 30 days to hold the vote. House Minority Leader Jim Ward (D-Wichita) says the bill is still alive.

The bill originally passed the house three votes short of the two-thirds needed for an override. The State Senate was two votes shy of that margin.

Brownback vetoed the bill that would expand the state's health coverage for the poor under former President Barack Obama's signature health care law, saying it does not prioritize the vulnerable.

“I am vetoing this expansion of ObamaCare because it fails to serve the truly vulnerable before the able-bodied, lacks work requirements to help able-bodied Kansans escape poverty, and burdens the state budget with unrestrainable entitlement costs,” Brownback said in

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The Republican-controlled Legislature

expanding the state's Medicaid program to the conservative GOP governor's office a day earlier.

In his message, Brownback also claimed the bill "funnels more taxpayers dollars to Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry."

"From it’s infancy, the state of Kansas has affirmed the dignity and equality of each human life. I will not support this legislation that continues to fund organizations that undermine a culture of life,” he said.

Many lawmakers expected Brownback to reject the measure. He's a vocal critic of the former Democratic president's 2010 Affordable Care Act.

Kansas Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley (D-Topeka) called the veto "a disappointment and disservice to Kansas."

"Without Medicaid expansion, more than 150,000 working Kansans will continue to go without access to health care. These Kansans earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but too little to afford private care," he said, arguing that the veto puts rural hospitals and health care providers in jeopardy as well as eliminating the opportunity to create thousands of jobs."

A coalition of local chambers of commerce released a statement as well backing the legislation. Twenty chambers, including ones in Topeka, Manhattan, Junction City, and Emporia, signed the statement, which called health care "one of the keys to a productive and efficient workforce and a top consideration in locating and operating businesses."

The chambers' release went on to say KanCare currently is "cumbersome and costly for providers, especially smaller providers, to deal with."