Gov. Sam Brownback vetoed a Medicaid expansion bill Thursday that had sailed through the House and Senate and was designed to provide greater access to health care coverage for at least 150,000 low-income Kansans.

The veto sparked an immediate debate and attempt to override it in the House, but Democrats and moderate Republicans quickly backed down and tabled the matter, nervous that more time was needed to rally the necessary 84 votes.

The maneuver means proponents will have this weekend at least to stir up support.

House Minority Leader Jim Ward, D-Wichita, indicated he would spend the time encouraging constituents to phone their lawmakers. Advocacy groups, too, wasted no time in alerting members via email and calling for urgent action.

"We’re looking for two to three votes," Ward told reporters on why the matter was tabled.

The House passed the Medicaid expansion bill last month 81-44, though an earlier preliminary vote had shown 83 people in favor. Proponents take that as encouragement toward their goal.

Brownback issued news of his action on Twitter shortly before the House began its morning session.

"I vetoed Medicaid expansion," his message read. "It does not prioritize the vulnerable."

He also said the bill fails to defund operations of Planned Parenthood, "isn’t responsible" and is "bad for Kansas."

Ward called Brownback’s mention of Planned Parenthood a "red herring" meant to confuse people into associating Medicaid expansion with abortion.

"There’s a federal law prohibiting public funds — Medicaid funds — from going to abortions," he said.

I vetoed Medicaid expansion. It does not prioritize the vulnerable. It does not #DefundPP. It isn't responsible. It's bad for Kansas. #ksleg pic.twitter.com/ydoooJK4fV

— Sam Brownback (@govsambrownback) March 30, 2017

The veto surprised some lawmakers, who had expected it but thought Brownback would wait longer. That prompted speculation that conservative Republicans were seeking to bury the bill quickly lest constituents bombard swayable legislators with appeals over the weekend.

Brownback has now vetoed both of the 2017 Legislature’s most significant bills — a bill raising state income taxes and the bill expanding Medicaid. The House mustered enough votes to override the governor’s rejection of the tax bill, but the Senate fell three votes short, meaning the governor’s signature 2012 tax cuts remain intact.

Fearful of defeat Thursday, Democrats made two unsuccessful maneuvers to halt the veto override vote. A moderate Republican then succeeded in doing so by telling the body that voting would mean staying put without permission to leave the floor for several hours.

That is because a lawmaker, Rep. Linda Gallagher, R-Lenexa, had gone to Dighton for a funeral. Jennings warned that a roll call procedure would occur that locks everyone in place until the missing lawmaker arrives.

Conservative Republicans face business, political and health-based arguments from those fighting to win them over.

"This is not a partisan issue," said Rep. Brett Parker, D-Overland Park. "Vice President (Mike) Pence expanded Medicaid in Indiana. It’s been too long of a wait in Kansas."

Rep. Stephanie Clayton, R-Overland Park, pointed to support from local chambers of commerce from across Kansas.

"Our joint chambers of commerce have Medicaid expansion as one of the top priorities, if not the No. 1 priority, on their legislative agenda," she said. "Any pro-business Republican would serve themselves well by voting to override."

Twenty chambers had issued a joint news release earlier in the morning — just minutes before the veto news — voicing their support for Medicaid expansion.

Advocates of Medicaid expansion are pushing to override Gov. Sam Brownback's veto of their bill, but it remains to be seen whether they will succeed. The vote last month, the results of which are shown above, showed 81 in favor. Three more votes would be needed for an override. Interactive map: Click on the districts for details. (Celia Llopis-Jepsen/The Capital-Journal)

Rep. Jim Kelly, R-Independence, touched on the financial struggles of rural hospitals and the communities that depend on them.

"When you have a hospital closed," he said, "it changes the entire picture of what your community is."

Even if the House overcomes the veto, the Senate will need to weigh in. Senators passed Medicaid expansion earlier this month by a 25-14 vote and would need 27 votes to override Brownback.

Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook, R-Shawnee, called the governor’s move "a great decision that protects our most vulnerable citizens."

"Medicaid expansion shifts the focus off our most vulnerable citizens — disabled, children, pregnant women, the elderly," she said, "and redirects it to able-bodied people."

Brownback has repeatedly made the same argument, though groups that consist of and advocate for seniors and the disabled reject those claims and are seeking Medicaid expansion. Pilcher-Cook said support from people who have disabilities is due to misinformation about how expansion would play out.

Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, said Brownback had turned his back on Kansans desperate for access to preventive health care.

"There is a strong bipartisan argument here," Hensley said.

David Jordan, executive director of the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, said his coalition, which includes hospitals, physicians and a wide array of civic groups, hasn’t given up but is dismayed.

"The governor had the opportunity to improve the health of 150,000 Kansans, to protect hospitals from closing and to create jobs," Jordan said. "He chose to side with special interests."