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Jason Hall, the CEO of Greater St. Louis, Inc., issued the following statement in response to the Missouri Senate Committee on Appropriations’ decision not to include funding for Medicaid expansion in the FY 2022 budget.
Tonight, the Missouri Senate Committee on Appropriations advanced the FY 2022 budget without funding Medicaid expansion. The decision by both House and Senate budget committees to strip the funding from Medicaid expansion is inconsistent with the will of the voters, and goes directly against Governor Mike Parson’s proposed budget, which included funding for expansion.
Estimated to add approximately 16,000 jobs every year over the next five years, Medicaid expansion is one of the best economic investments Missouri can make this year. A number of respected institutions report that Medicaid expansion will produce billions in economic output in addition to providing healthcare coverage to hundreds of thousands of working Missourians.
Fortunately, there are still additional avenues for the state to capture these economic benefits and fund Medicaid expansion. The Senate can choose to fund expansion when the budget is debated on the Senate floor next week.
The fight is not over. Greater St. Louis, Inc. will continue to make sure the voice of the business community, and Missouri voters, is heard. You can help by reaching out to your Senator. The Legislator Lookup tool is available here. We also urge you to join the many St. Louis businesses who have signed our statement urging the Legislature to fund Medicaid expansion. You can sign the statement here.
For additional background on the implementation of Medicaid expansion, follow the link here.