Nixon calls for Medicaid reform and expansion during West Plains stop

(From Gov. Jay Nixon)

As the tab for the General Assembly’s inaction on Medicaid exceeded $500 million, Gov. Jay Nixonvisited Ozarks Medical Center in West Plains to call on legislators to prevent further damage to the economy and stop flow of taxpayer dollars to other states. Last week, a report from the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and the Missouri Hospital Association found that inaction on Medicaid already cost the state more than 3,000 jobs over the past six months alone. The Governor was joined by representatives of the West Plains Chamber of Commerce, which has endorsed Medicaid reform and expansion.

“Since January 1st, Missouri taxpayers have spent more than $500 million and counting to provide health care in other states – and where our tax dollars have gone, jobs have followed,” Gov. Nixon said. “The Missouri Chamber’s report shows that Missouri families and communities are already paying the costs of the legislature’s inaction, and it needs to stop. By denying Missourians any of the benefits but sticking them with the entire bill, the General Assembly is delivering Missouri families a one-two punch. With more than a month left in the legislative session, I urge the General Assembly to take action necessary to prevent further damage to our economy and bring Missourians’ tax dollars home.”

Medicaid reform and expansion would bring federal dollars that Missourians send to Washington, $2 billion a year, back to the state to provide health care coverage to 300,000 working Missourians making no more than $32,913 a year for a family of four. As a result of the legislature’s failure to act, those dollars -- $5.47 million a day – are now being spent in other states. A majority of states, including Missouri’s neighboring states of Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois and Iowa, are moving forward with plans to expand and reform Medicaid.

Under the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid expansion was also designed to compensate for payment cuts to hospitals and health care providers. Even though Missouri did not expand Medicaid, many of those payment cuts are still taking effect, forcing many hospitals, including Ozarks Medical Center, to reduce staff and services. According to the survey by the Missouri Chamber and MHA, “more than one-third of layoffs and one half of hiring freezes have been in rural areas where the need for health care workers is great and hospital jobs help support the economy.”

“Our mission at OMC is to provide high quality, compassionate health care and promote wellness in the communities we serve, but Missouri’s failure to act on Medicaid is making that mission more difficult to carry out,” said Ozarks Medical Center CEO Tom Keller. “Unless the legislature takes action and expands Medicaid, we’re going to continue to see fewer jobs at hospitals and rural clinics across Missouri. Governor Nixon is right, we can’t change what they’ve done in Washington, but we can come up with solutions in Missouri to protect our state and our economy.”

“Here in West Plains, like many small towns, the local hospital is essential to the physical and economic health of the community,” Josh Cotter, Immediate Past Chair of the West Plains Chamber of Commerce. “We are very concerned that continued inaction by the General Assembly on Medicaid will lead to more job losses in communities like ours. That is why we are proud to join the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and local Chambers across the state in urging our representatives and senators to protect rural communities and expand and reform Medicaid this year.”

According to an analysis by the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC), expanding and reforming Medicaid would result in the creation of 23,868 jobs, $9.9 billion in new wages, and $14.6 billion in new Gross State Product (GSP) from 2015 to 2022. According to the report, Medicaid expansion would also generate $402 million in new state general revenue from 2015 to 2022, including $53 million in new general revenue in 2015 alone.