Nixon calls for Medicaid reform as ACA provisions take effect

Looking back on 2013, Gov. Jay Nixon again called for Medicaid reform in Missouri as provisions of the federal Affordable Care Act bulk up the health care program.

Speaking to the media in Jefferson City on New Year's Eve, Nixon lamented the General Assembly's failure to pass Medicaid reform that would take advantage of federal money being paid out to states, including several of Missouri's neighbors.

"Roughly $37 billion – including $2 billion of Missourians’ tax dollars – will begin to flow to 25 states that are reforming and improving their health care systems," Nixon said in a news release. "Businesses in these states will have a significant competitive advantage – because as more people get health coverage, fewer people show up in emergency rooms, putting downward pressure on private health premiums.    

“But not here in Missouri. Because of the legislature’s inaction on Medicaid, here in Missouri, 2014 will start in a different way."

Despite backing by business groups - including the Springfield, Branson and Bolivar chambers of commerce - the Missouri General Assembly did not pass Medicaid expansion measures during 2013.

In March, Nixon and business groups called on the legislature to bring in an estimated $5.7 billion in federal funds to Missouri and add 300,000 people to Medicaid rolls. Opponents signed an open letter stating Medicaid expansion would mean the state would have to pick up a $1.2 billion tab from additional costs through 2022, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

Under ACA provisions effective Jan. 1, Medicaid gained a boost. Participating states would see the program funded at 100 percent by federal dollars for the first three years, and the states would cover up to 10 percent of the costs through 2022.

"We’ve seen our neighbors in Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa and Kentucky move forward with common sense, market-based approaches to helping low-income working families afford the basic health care services they need to live healthy lives," Nixon said in the release. "They’re using market-forces to modernize what had been outdated and inefficient health care systems, and improve outcomes and reduce costs for everyone. And unless we change course, they’re going to do all this with our tax dollars – while Missouri gets left behind."