JEFFERSON CITY — Despite winning the support of 53% of Missouri voters in 2020, Republicans who control the state Legislature are making another run at gutting Medicaid expansion.
In action Monday, a key budget panel forwarded a proposed constitutional amendment to the full House that would ask voters to allow the government-subsidized health care program to be subject to annual appropriations by the General Assembly.
The proposal advanced on a 22-9 vote.
If approved, the proposed constitutional change regarding Medicaid would put the power to make the program available to as many as 275,000 low-income Missourians in the hands of the Legislature, meaning it could, again, choose not to fund the expansion.
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Missouri Republicans have long fought against implementing one of the key initiatives of President Barack Obama’s presidency by blocking additional funding for the Affordable Care Act. The 2020 referendum and a ruling last July by the Missouri Supreme Court changed the equation by forcing the Legislature to provide money for the expansion.
Democrats say the latest end-around by Republicans is just another effort to hurt poor people who need health coverage.
“All we’re doing is kicking off people who qualify,†said Rep. , D-ºüÀêÊÓƵ, who is the ranking member of the House Budget Committee.
House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. , R-Carthage, argued that his proposed constitutional change wouldn’t necessarily cut all expansion costs. Rather, he said, it would allow lawmakers more flexibility to manage Medicaid spending.
In addition to making expansion an optional funding line in the budget, the proposed referendum also would institute a requirement for Medicaid recipients to work or do qualified community engagement for 80 hours a month.
The proposed work requirements would apply to applicants between ages 19 and 65 and allow for some exemptions.
Prior attempts to institute work requirements have failed and efforts by Republicans in other states to impose the rules have largely fizzled.
In Arkansas, for example, a work program was halted after nearly a year in 2019.
The proposal also would have to win approval from President Joe Biden’s administration, which announced in February 2021 that it would remove all work waivers the government granted during the Trump administration.
If the proposal is approved by the House, it would then go to the Senate for further deliberations.
The proposed constitutional amendment is .