The Missouri Senate has voted against paying for Medicaid expansion. Senators on Wednesday voted 20-14 against a proposal to add the funding to the state budget.
The vote locks in the House's decision not to pay for Medicaid expansion. Missouri voters last year voted to expand who is eligible for government health care coverage to thousands more low-income adults. But the Republican-led Legislature has long opposed growing the program. Now they're trying to thwart expansion by blocking funding for it.
If lawmakers send the governor a budget without paying for the program, it likely will set up a court battle.