Public employee groups in Kansas have misgivings about a legislative proposal unveiled Friday for overhauling the state pension system, even though it backs away from starting a 401(k)-style plan for new teachers and government workers.

Kansas officials announced Wednesday that five companies have submitted bids for three contracts to manage Medicaid, but skeptics of Gov. Sam Brownback's plan to overhaul the state's $2.9 billion-a-year program saw it as another sign of potential problems.

Kansas shouldn't let fear of change prevent it from overhauling Medicaid, an influential legislator said Tuesday, as Gov. Sam Brownback's administration stuck with plans to let private companies manage the $2.9 billion program starting next year

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback's efforts to overhaul Medicaid hit a rough spot Thursday after the state's largest health insurance company decided not to bid on a contract to help manage the program, leaving some lawmakers and advocates increasingly uneasy.

Republican Gov. Sam Brownback won't delay an overhaul of Medicaid in Kansas, officials said Thursday, despite bipartisan concern among legislators that his administration is moving too quickly to turn the entire program over to private health insurance companies.

A Democratic legislator serving on a commission studying Kansas' pension system questioned Wednesday whether Republican Gov. Sam Brownback has been improperly involved in its deliberations just before it recommended starting a 401(k)-style retirement plan for new public employees.

Gov. Sam Brownback's administration is delaying the release of its plan for overhauling the Medicaid program in Kansas until next month so that it has the most current state revenue projections possible, his spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Planned Parenthood may return to federal court to force Kansas to immediately release federal funds for the group's non-abortion services because it doesn't believe the state is complying with a judge's order, the leader of its regional chapter said Thursday.