(KMAland) — As health care becomes a hot topic in the battle for Missouri’s Senate seat, renewed attention is focused on expanding Medicaid in the state.
Missourians voted against 2020 referendum Amending the state constitution to expand MO HealthNet, the state’s Medicaid program. The following spring, Attorney General Eric Schmidt filed a lawsuit sided with the expansionist, which ultimately went to the state Supreme Court. In July, a unanimous High Court decision restored voter will and expanded MO HealthNet.
Richard von Grahn, organizational director of Jobs With Justice in Missouri, said the expansion of Medicaid has injected billions of dollars into the state’s economy while providing insurance to hundreds of thousands of people. Said there was
“It will protect rural hospitals, protect jobs in the health care industry, and provide life-saving care for people in this state,” von Grahn argued. Having health insurance is a good policy.”
incentives based on Law for Adjustment of Medical Expenses The state will cover 10% of the cost of the expansion, and the federal government will cover the rest.
After years of legislative inaction on the issue, proponents turned to the ballot initiative, gathering over 300,000 signatures to present the issue to voters. The bill passed with his 53% of the vote, and von Grahn argued the episode showed politics in the state were collapsing.
“The fact that we had to do this through a voting initiative shows that something was wrong,” emphasized von Grahn. “And for every elected official who didn’t advance policy, we need to look at what voters did and make sure they were on the wrong side of what the people of this state wanted. I think there is.”
The expansion of Medicaid extended eligibility to adults ages 19 to 64 whose income is less than 133% of the federal poverty level.The Kaiser Family Foundation reported Over 209,000 Registered by Missourians.
