Long shot?

Gov. Jay Nixon spent a good deal of his campaign for governor proposing a reversal to the 2005 Medicaid cuts. So it's not terribly surprising that he devoted a chunk of his State of the State Speech to the issue.

Nixon said this week he wants to add 62,000 Missourians to the health care program for low-income Missourians. That effort would be paid for with some state general revenue dollars and federal matching funds.

"We must continue to work together to further expand coverage and further drive down costs for Missouri families," Nixon said in his speech. "I look forward to working with the legislature to find common ground on this critical issue for our state. And make no mistake, we must take action to address the health care crisis in Missouri this year."

Nixon's push to expand Medicaid has always faced looming opposition from Republicans in the legislature. After all, the GOP-backed General Assembly were the force behind the eligibility cuts in 2005. And few observers believe that Republicans are eager to reverse course.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Gary Nodler is a good example. I asked the Joplin Republican point blank whether Republicans who cut Medicaid eligibility in 2005 would be supportive of Nixon's plan.

"No, I think not," Nodler said. "Now, that isn't to say that all of the governor's funding requests are sort of dismissed out of hand. That's one particular area that I think is a long shot."

Missouri Democrats have argued that it was unwise for the state to turn away hundreds of millions of dollars in federal matching funds associated with the Medicaid program. They also have said the move drove low-income individuals to emergency rooms.

Nixon's speech pitched expanding health care "access" as an economic development tool.

"New companies aren’t coming to Missouri and employers are not adding workers because the cost of health care is just too high," Nixon said. "We cannot get this economy moving until we get the cost of health insurance under control. And we cannot get the cost of health insurance under control until we reduce the number of Missourians who don’t have it."

Comments

[JasonB]

Nixon will not get his medicaid restoration. He may get a bill that builds on Insure Missouri from last year and may get something on SCHIP.

The people who keep whining about the federal money always forget to tell you that it takes state GR to get that federal money. That means schools, higher education and other areas have to suffer to get the extra federal money.