Many disabled Missourians would be able to go back to work and still receive their Medicaid health care benefits under a bill approved by the House and sent to the Senate. The new Ticket-To-Work program is less generous and less costly than the old Medical Assistance for Workers with Disabilities program that the Legislature eliminated last year. Republicans pushed the Medicaid cuts through last session, using their majority status to brush aside objections raised by Democrats. More than 15,000 disabled Missourians received benefits from the old MAWD program. Just over 3,000 would qualify for the new program. Supporters say they want to encourage the disabled to work, but that the old program was too generous and overly taxed the state’s budget. The new program should cost the state about $8-Million, which will be matched with federal money.
