Advocates of Medicaid Expansion Face Uphill Battle With Skeptical Lawmakers
For the Missouri Hospital Association, the key to getting legislators on board with a push to expand Medicaid is making a pitch about the move’s economic opportunity — and the practical consequences of inaction.
"It isn't the matter that 'we should expand Medicaid because it's the right thing to do, although that is certainly still a strong argument,'" said MHA spokesman Dave Dillion. "Not only could we accomplish that, but we could create an economic engine by doing that."
But state Sen. Rob Schaaf, for one, is unmoved so far by what he's heard from proponents of the expansion. That includes the association and their advocate in the Capitol, Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat.
In fact, Schaaf, a St. Joseph Republican and a physician, literally takes an opposite view to the push for the expansion.
https://www.stlbeacon.org/#!/content/28317/legislative_medicaid_expansion_analysis?coverpage=2268