Kansas legislators have sustained Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s veto of a bill that would have expanded the state’s Medicaid program.

The House voted 81-44 Monday to override the veto shortly after the conservative governor announced it. Backers of the measure fell three votes short of the two-thirds majority necessary to overturn a veto.

The bill would have extended the state’s health coverage for the poor, disabled and elderly under former President Barack Obama’s health care law to cover up to 180,000 more adults.

Brownback is a critic of the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

He argued in his veto message that expanding Medicaid would burden the state with what he called “unrestrainable” costs. Supporters said it would be a net plus for the state.]