JEFFERSON CITY — A bloc of hard-line conservative Republicans in the Missouri Senate is poised to resume a fight over a key state funding source as part of their yearslong campaign to defund Planned Parenthood.
The last time the “Federal Reimbursement Allowance” was an issue in the Legislature was in 2021, when factional fighting among Republicans in the Senate forced Gov. Mike Parson to call a special session to force a vote.
At that time, the conservative caucus in the upper chamber unsuccessfully demanded that the measure include language prohibiting Planned Parenthood from being a Medicaid provider.
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With the legislation scheduled to be debated in a Senate committee next week, Sen. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, a leading member of the newly formed Freedom Caucus in the Senate, told reporters Thursday he wants the anti-abortion language included this time around.
But, legislative leaders said such a maneuver could put federal funding that pays for a major portion of the state’s $12 billion Medicaid bill in jeopardy.
“You can’t jeopardize four-and-a-half billion dollars,” said Senate President Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia.
Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo, D-Independence, said it would be foolhardy to hold up passage of the tax in order to make a point about abortion.
“The state cannot move forward budgetarily without an FRA,” Rizzo said. “If you think rural hospitals are in bad shape now, if we don’t renew that FRA, it will be a catastrophe.”
The tax on nursing homes and hospitals, which is set to expire this year, has typically been renewed with little drama.
Health care groups representing hospitals, nursing homes and others are urging lawmakers to renew the tax without changes to prevent the collapse of Missouri’s health care system.
The provider tax is a critical source of revenue that most states rely on for their Medicaid programs — and to get federal matching Medicaid dollars.
Nationally, the taxes accounted for 17% of state Medicaid funding in 2018, according to a 2020 report by the Government Accountability Office.
Missouri’s Medicaid program already does not cover the cost of abortions, which were substantially banned in 2022. But Planned Parenthood also provides family planning assistance and birth control in Missouri.
Previous attempts to stop funding the organization were rebuffed by the Missouri Supreme Court, which said the parliamentary process used by the Legislature violated the state constitution.
Rowden said he hopes to keep the drama to a minimum.
“We just want to get it done,” Rowden said. “I’m sure there will be discussions.”