Medicaid for Missouri

From the Heartland, Margot McMillen writes: Interesting headline on the Fulton Sun, our local newspaper: “Medicaid-expansion shaping up as major legislative issue.” The writer, Bob Watson, focuses on the split between our democratic governor, Jay Nixon, who wants to bring more health-care dollars into the state and our majority republican General Assembly, who want to keep federal money—“Obamacare”—out of the state. On the table is some $250 million a year for 3 years, and health coverage for 220,000 Missourians. Don’t know if most of those would be school kids, but it wouldn’t be surprising. For rural folks, the health care dollars would be a godsend. Rural folks make less money than urban ones and have less access to health insurance. So many of us are minimally employed, working for a big farmer perhaps or doing odd jobs for our neighbors. A lot of seasonal work and minimum wage work, for employers that don’t provide health insurance. Right now, a family of three has to make less than $300 per month to qualify for Medicaid. If lawmakers agree on the new plan, the eligibility goes up to around $2,000 per month, which means a lot more folks will get checkups and preventive care. This will pay off in the long run. And, of course, there will be jobs attached to it…doctors, nurses, clerical workers and all the peripheral folks it takes to run or expand clinics. these are good jobs. Really, it’s silly that the General Assembly has to argue with the governor about this win/win situation. Even the Missouri Chamber of Commerce has come out in favor of the plan, and it will mean so much to our rural communities. I sure hope the lawmakers don’t use this issue to throw their weight—their “bullet-proof majority”--around and act like bullies. I hope they'll think about who they'd be hurting.