Republican lawmakers vote down funding for Missouri Medicaid expansion

[TexasTowelie]

The move by House budget committee puts the fate of voter-approved expansion in jeopardy


A partisan battle over Medicaid expansion in the House Budget Committee ended Thursday with a vote against spending $1.9 billion to implement the medical program approved by voters in August.

The arguments for and against a special spending bill that separated expansion costs from other Medicaid budget lines echoed the debates of past years – Republicans argued that it cost too much and would force cuts in other areas while Democrats contended that the state has plenty of cash and expansion would save money for state taxpayers.

The committee voted 9-20 against the spending bill that allocated $130 million of general revenue and $1.9 billion overall to expand coverage to households with incomes below 138 percent of the federal poverty guideline.

The vote came as the committee was working through proposed changes to the $34.1 billion budget proposed in January by Gov. Mike Parson. The full House will debate the budget in floor sessions next week.

Read more: https://missouriindependent.com/2021/03/25/republican-lawmakers-vote-down-funding-for-missouri-medicaid-expansion/

[Lovie777]

1. That is just wrong ....