Virginia Gov. Says Legislation Is Way To Medicaid Expansion
In Missouri, the expansion gets a symbolic committee endorsement, and the governor proposes using federal dollars to help pay for coverage for low-wage earners.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch: McAuliffe Says He Wants Medicaid Expansion Through Legislation
Gov. Terry McAuliffe pressed Wednesday for legislative action on Medicaid expansion and declared that he will not allow a government shutdown should the protracted budget battle endure. Asked on WTOP radio about the possibility of pursuing expansion through executive action, McAuliffe said with a laugh: “Everybody says that. I’d like them to tell me and all my lawyers exactly how we do that.” “This is a very complicated topic,” he added. “I ran saying I want to work in a bipartisan way. I want to get this done legislatively. It’s the right thing to do for us all to work together” (Meola, 4/30).
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Medicaid Bill Wins Symbolic Vote, Inches Forward In Mo. House
In what Missouri House Insurance Committee Chairman Chris Molendorp acknowledged was a symbolic move, a Medicaid expansion measure gained its first committee endorsement of the year today. Molendorp, R-Belton, and the four Democrats on his committee combined to recommend a wide-ranging bill that would expand the public health insurance system to about 300,000 low-income adults. The vote was 5-2, with five Republicans absent (Young, 4/30).
Kansas Health Institute: Missouri Governor Proposes Health Assistance For Working Poor
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon is proposing that the state use federal health dollars to subsidize health insurance for low-wage workers. Under a program he is calling Missouri Health Works, Nixon is proposing that the state pay a portion of employers’ health insurance costs for their employees that make below 138 percent of the poverty level, or $27,310 annually for a family of three (Sherry, 4/30).