Medicaid expansion

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.

Medicaid applicants in Missouri are facing average wait times to get their applications processed of nearly four months: well over the 45 days required by the federal government.

Research suggests access to public health insurance can help curb recidivism. Reentry organizations in Missouri are working to enroll people in Medicaid after they leave prison to keep them from coming back.

The proposed amendment next goes to the state Senate. And if the legislature passes it, the measure would need voters' approval in November.

Missouri has nearly 73,000 people waiting to have their Medicaid applications processed, more than the number of people enrolled in the expansion of the federal-state health insurance program. Although most states process Medicaid applications within a week, Missouri is taking, on average, more than two months. Patient advocates fear that means people will stay uninsured longer, leading them to postpone care or get stuck with high medical bills.

Republicans in the Missouri House are looking to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November which would allow them to control Medicaid expansion funding.

Research has found Medicaid expansion is linked to lower rates of people reoffending, and a key aspect appears to be mental health care.

Five months after a judge ruled Missouri must begin enrolling people in its newly expanded Medicaid program, the state is off to a slow start, with only 20% of newly eligible people signed up.

Missouri’s governor hopes the legislature will pass his proposed raises for state employees in time for them to go into effect in February.