Gov. Jay Nixon is closing out the year by asking state legislators once again to pass a bill expanding Missouri’s Medicaid coverage for lower-income residents.
The democratic governor emphasized that two billion of Missourian’s tax dollars will start flowing to neighboring states that accepted federal funding to expand their Medicaid programs. Nixon says he is still open to meeting with state legislators to hash out concrete specifics of the health care program expansion, which would cover nearly 300,000 more uninsured Missourians.
“Having a ‘gotcha’ political discussion is exactly how we’ve gotten to where we’ve gotten which is starting at 12:01 tonight Missourians are paying for healthcare in other states and getting nothing for it,” he says.
Nixon says he is open to discussing rewards for healthy lifestyle choices and penalties for missed doctors appointments.
Republican legislative leaders say the Medicaid program needs to be overhauled first before accepting any federal money. Nixon’s effort to expand Medicaid in 2013 failed as Republicans also raised concerns about the long-term cost of the move.
