Missouri governor drops voter-approved Medicaid expansion

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has dropped plans to expand the state's Medicaid program after the Legislature declined to provide money for a measure approved by voters

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri Gov. Mike Parson dropped plans Thursday to expand the state's Medicaid health care program to thousands of low-income adults after the Republican-led Legislature refused to provide funding for the voter-approved measure. The Republican governor said his administration had withdrawn a request to expand coverage that had been submitted to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in compliance with a constitutional amendment passed by voters last November. He noted that the state's $35 billion budget approved by lawmakers last week didn't provide the funding he had requested for an expansion of Medicaid, which is known is Missouri as MO HealthNet. "Without a revenue source or funding authority from the General Assembly, we are unable to proceed with the expansion at this time and must withdraw our State Plan Amendments to ensure Missouri’s existing MO HealthNet program remains solvent,” Parson said Thursday.