Kansas to allow Farm Bureau health coverage avoid ACA rules

TOPEKA, Kan. – Kansas will allow its state Farm Bureau to offer health care coverage that doesn’t satisfy the Affordable Care Act.

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly decided Friday not to block a state-level effort by Republicans to circumvent former President Barack Obama’s signature health care law.

The proposal was part of an insurance bill Kelly declined to sign or veto, meaning it becomes law. It includes provisions that exempt the Farm Bureau from state insurance regulations for the health care coverage it offers to its members.

Supporters say the bureau could offer lower-cost coverage to thousands of people. But Democratic lawmakers say it would allow the group to sell skimpy coverage.

The law takes effect in July. It’s patterned after one in place in Tennessee for decades and one enacted last year in Iowa.