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Issue: 1163 Date: 12/6/2012
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Nixon: Medicaid Expansion 'The Right Thing To Do'
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| Missouri Governor Jay Nixon in St. Louis on Nov. 29, 2012. Nixon announced that he supports an expansion of Medicaid. Credit (UPI/Bill Greenblatt) |
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Gov. Jay Nixon says expanding Medicaid eligibility in Missouri is both "the smart thing" and "the right thing to do."
Nixon announced his support for the expansion Thursday November 29, 2012, saying it could provide health care coverage to an additional 300,000 Missourians.
"It's the smart thing to do because if we take a pass on billions of healthcare dollars, dollars that come out of Missourians paychecks, the money will go to another state," Nixon said. "They'll get the benefit. We'll get the bill."
Nixon and hospital officials warn without the expansion the state would not only lose additional federal funding, but current funds for Medicaid would drop dramatically.
BJC president and chief executive Steve Lipstein says that would hurt hospitals that serve uninsured patients and the state's economy.
"We are the largest employer in the state of Missouri, and our ability to continue to sustain that employment in support of providing outstanding patient care is contingent upon the legislature approving the governor's plan for expansion of Medicaid," Lipstein said.
BJC employs 25,000 people at hospitals throughout Missouri.
Under a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year, each state can decide whether to enact the Medicaid expansion called for under President Barack Obama's health care law. The federal government pays the full cost starting in 2014, but states must begin paying a 5 percent share in 2017 that gradually increases to 10 percent by 2020.
The Democratic governor says he will "work tirelessly" to persuade the Republican-led Legislature to approve the Medicaid expansion. Republican leaders have expressed concerns about its future cost to the state.
Missouri Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill released the following statement regarding Nixon's announcement:
"I applaud the announcement Governor Nixon made today-expanded coverage will boost the number of Missourians with access to life-saving health services, expand job opportunities, and protect rural hospitals which are at risk of closing from fiscal challenges. An expansion will ensure Missourians benefit from the taxes they pay instead of seeing that money and its benefits flow to other states. This is as commonsense as it gets. The next step is for the folks in Jefferson City to follow our lead. The Legislature should act now to support the Medicaid expansion, and create a Missouri-based health insurance exchange instead of handing its creation over to the federal government. I honestly never thought I'd see the day when the Missouri Legislature would willingly toss responsibility back to Washington and walk the other way."
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