Medicaid expansion forces state budget cuts
COLUMBIA — Missouri lawmakers worked on budget cuts Friday now that voters approved Medicaid expansion on Election Day this week. Researchers at the State Auditor’s Office estimated 250,000 Missourians will join the healthcare program.
The federal government is covering 90% of the costs for newly eligible Medicaid patients in Missouri while Missouri taxpayers are paying for the remaining 10%. Missouri lawmakers said the state’s 10% share costs between $200 million and $350 million.
Ashland Republican State Representative Sara Walsh voted against Amendment 2. Walsh said Medicaid expansion puts a strain on the state’s annual budget. Some general revenue funds are off-limits to cuts. Walsh said cuts to education were a possibility because of Medicaid expansion.
“With the estimates being $200 million to $350 million dollars, that is a lot of money," Walsh said. "I express concerns. At this point, the voters have spoken. We need to find that money from somewhere.”
Members of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce believe Medicaid expansion will create 16,000 new Missouri jobs in the first 5 years of expansion, and it will generate around $2.5 billion dollars in economic output. Members of the Missouri Hospital Association said hundreds of thousands of low-income Missourians without coverage were now able to access healthcare.
"This, definitely, will go a long way to help working families who just don’t have access, or their employer doesn’t offer health insurance, or they can’t afford it while they raise a family," Missouri Hospital Association spokeswoman Mary Becker said.
The passage of Amendment 2 had Missouri joining 37 other states with Medicaid expansion. Missouri lawmakers were planning special budget meetings between now and January when they return to Jefferson City for next year’s legislative session.
