Medicaid

Missouri has the 8th highest maternal deaths in the country. Pre-filed bill would extend postpartum care for low-income women.

Since 2015, Centene has given more than $26 million to state political campaigns, including in places where it is wooing Medicaid contracts and settling accusations of overbilling taxpayers.

A federal emergency declaration that has allowed children to receive continuous Medicaid coverage throughout the pandemic could end soon, and health providers are worried.

Centene Corp. has agreed to pay Texas $165.6 million to resolve claims that it overcharged the state’s Medicaid program — the biggest known payout by the nation’s largest Medicaid insurer over its drug pricing practices.

State officials declared the backlog of Medicaid applications "no more" and expressed optimism they would meet a federal deadline set for the end of the month. The state's processing time had grown to 115 days, far longer than allowed under law.

Roughly four in every five Medicaid applications in Missouri took longer than 45 days to process from February to April.

A multi-year report on maternal mortality in Missouri found that women on Medicaid are eight times more likely to die within one year of pregnancy than those with private health insurance. Black women were three times more likely to die than white women.

Missouri has one of the nation's highest maternal mortality rates. And yet, it's not among the many states taking advantage of an offer from the federal government to pay for extended Medicaid coverage for postpartum mothers.

Religious leaders in the statewide group Missouri Faith Voices are encouraging volunteers to spread the word about the state's Medicaid expansion. They say that the state has done little to publicize the program and that much of the responsibility for educating residents has fallen on them and community organizations.

Democrats say the expansion will lower health care costs by reducing care administered at emergency rooms, while Republicans argue it will incentivize illegal immigration and overburden the state’s health system.