Ballot issue – Medicaid expansion

A Medicaid expansion measure is one of the hot items on Tuesday’s primary election ballot. Whether Missouri can afford to expand government-funded healthcare to another 230,000 low-income adults depends on who you talk to. Columbia State Representative Kip Kendrick, the House Budget Committee’s ranking Democrat, insists the state would save money…

(as said) “Most states actually see a cost savings in the first year to two years and then that cost savings continues to grow,” says Kendrick. “As more people come on, they tend to come on to that expanded role at 90/10 match rather than a 60/40 match.”

Missouri Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick, a Republican, says the plan would cost the state another 200 million dollars annually. Governor Parson opposes the measure, while the Republican-leaning Missouri Chamber of Commerce says it backs the proposal that it says would lead to another 16,000 jobs per year for five years.