Missourians Voted in Favor of it but Medicaid Expansion Officially Scrapped by Legislature & Governor

(Jefferson City) Governor Parson says the state has withdrawn its Medicaid expansion plan it had filed with the federal government.

The governor’s state budget proposal included funding the expansion but his office says the voter-approved ballot measure did not include a funding source.

Parson says the Missouri Constitution prohibits ballot initiatives from appropriating funds without creating a revenue source.

A statement from Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo says the Constitution shows Medicaid expansion begins July 1st.

Rizzo says the governor is “caving to the new authoritarian Republican Regime that does not respect the outcome of elections”.

The expansion effort would provide government-funded health care to an extra 275-thousand low-income Missourians.

The final decision on the matter will now be taken up in court.