To Expand Or Not To Expand Medicaid: Missouri Voters To Decide In August

[Sherman A1]

After years of debating whether to expand Medicaid in Missouri, voters will finally get the chance to decide in the August primary election.

Currently, the government-funded health insurance program for low-income Missourians and those with disabilities takes up roughly one-third of the state’s $35 billion budget. Supporters of expansion say there are still significant gaps in coverage.

Missouri has some of the strictest eligibility requirements in the country, said Traci Gleason, with the Missouri Budget Project, an organization that analyzes state finances.

“If you’re not a custodial parent, and you’re not a senior or disabled, you cannot access Medicaid,” Gleason said. “The small sliver of adults that we cover, those custodial parents, we cover at the lowest eligibility level allowed by federal law.”

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/expand-or-not-expand-medicaid-missouri-voters-decide-august

[bluedye33139]

1. Idaho voters voted to expand Medicaid 2 years ago

The state legislature responded by changing the ballot and petition process so that you must now essentially obtain a majority in every county in the state in order to pass a ballot measure.

They hate Medicaid. People called the new rules the punish "the voters Bill" when it was passed.