Missouri abandons voter-approved Medicaid expansion

Missouri voters approved Medicaid expansion in the state, but it still is facing a tough fight to go into effect.

Less than a year after Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment expanding Medicaid coverage, Gov. Mike Parson (R) said Thursday he will drop plans to implement the expansion after the GOP supermajority legislature refused to provide funding.

Parson sent a letter to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services formally withdrawing plans to expand MO HealthNet, the state’s Medicaid program. He said the legislature’s refusal to fund the expansion threatened the entire program’s fiscal solvency.

“[W]ithout a revenue source or funding authority from the General Assembly, we are unable to proceed with the expansion at this time,” Parson wrote.