Single moms sue Missouri for refusing to expand Medicaid

Two single mothers are among a group of women suing Missouri for denying them access to Medicaid health care as called for in the state Constitution

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Two single mothers are among a group of low-income adults who on Thursday sued Missouri Gov. Mike Parson's administration for dropping plans to expand Medicaid. The two moms and a third woman asked a Cole County judge to force the state to give them coverage under the government health care program, as called for in a constitutional amendment approved by voters last year. Two of the women who sued the state are poor enough that their children are covered by Medicaid, but they still make too much — at most $12 an hour working full-time — to get government health care insurance themselves under Missouri’s current rules. The plaintiffs argued in the lawsuit that they need the health insurance program to get treatment for illnesses including asthma and diabetes.