Gov. Jay Nixon last night promoted expanding Medicaid coverage using federal funds. He also pledged to increase spending on education during his State of the State address, delivered to a joint session of the General Assembly in Jefferson City.
Medicaid expansionEchoing similar statements made at
November stops across the state - including Springfield's Jordan Valley Community Health Care Center - Nixon laid out his support for a plan expected to provide health care coverage for an additional 300,000 Missourians.
Nixon pointed to provisions put in effect by the federal Affordable Care Act, which he said would bring $5.7 billion in taxpayer money to Missouri for calendar years 2014-16, with the state paying 5 percent in 2017, 6 percent in 2018, 7 percent in 2019 and 10 percent beginning in 2020. The act, commonly known as Obamacare, allows for Medicaid expansion to cover low-income Americans who can't afford health care insurance by raising the eligibility level to 138 percent of the federal poverty level.
"Strengthening Medicaid will strengthen our economy. Without question, it’s the smart thing to do," Nixon said last night, calling health care expansion "the biggest economic decision facing our state right now."
Nixon sought to clarify which 300,000 people would receive coverage.
"They’re working Missourians – folks who work day and night, but simply can’t afford health coverage," Nixon said, "and because these folks can’t afford doctors’ bills or insurance, they often end up in our hospital emergency rooms because it’s the only option for their family. It’s a terrible way to deliver health care. It drives up premiums for people who do have health insurance. That must change."
In the Republican response to the State of the State address, Speaker of the House Tim Jones said adding 300,000 people to Medicaid would "expand the welfare state." Saying the issue would increase the size of government to the state's detriment, Jones said the Republican-led legislature would not answer the call of President Barack Obama and Washington, D.C.
"They want to take us down a fiscally irresponsible path that will saddle future generations of Missourians with a bill they cannot afford," Jones said. "Why should we pour billions of dollars of your hard-earned tax money into a broken system? That would defy basic economic sense.
"Instead, Republican leadership will propose a plan to transform our Medicaid system, to repair a broken system so that it works as intended by providing quality care to the neediest Missourians."
Education spendingNixon said children must be the first priority of the state government, and pledged a $150 million increase in the education budget for fiscal 2014, which begins July 1.
Nixon's proposed budget calls for a $17 million increase in early childhood education; a $34 million rise in higher education spending; and a $100 million bump for K-12 classrooms.
"Increased funding means increased accountability," Nixon said. "We expect better test scores, better graduation rates, more college degrees and more Missourians ready to compete for the best jobs in a global economy."
For the increase in higher education, Nixon said funding given to public institutions would be tied to performance goals, including student retention, graduation rates and improved learning.
The governor also proposed increasing the K-12 academic year by six days, as well as training more teachers and modernizing equipment.
To pay for increases in education funding, Nixon proposed creation of the Building Opportunities in Our Schools Today Fund, a bond issuance he said would allow the state to establish a permanent, low-interest loan fund for school improvements.
"With our perfect Aaa credit rating intact and interest rates at all-time lows, we now have a unique opportunity to move forward with a bond issuance," Nixon said. "Interest rates today are about half of what they were in 1995 when Gov. (Mel) Carnahan issued bonds, and about a third of what they were when Gov. (Kit) Bond did the same in 1983, when interest rates were more than 8 percent."
Nixon said paying for the bond issuance is a matter of bringing the state's tax credit system under control. He said tax credit redemptions grew to $629 million last year.
"This is the year to get comprehensive, fiscally responsible tax credit reform legislation to my desk, and get smart, strategic investments in our state moving forward," Nixon said.
