Missouri legislative opponents of Medicaid expansion  say President Obama has killed any hopes that it might happen here this year.  Senate leader Tom Dempsey of St. Charles has not budged from the position he announce last November that Medicaid expansion is not going to happen in Missouri.  Governor Nixon has spent weeks trying to build grassroots support for it.  But the president’s proposal last week to delay Medicaid cuts to hospitals by one year is the last nail in the coffin as far as Dempsey is concerned. “There wasn’t any hope in the first place,” he says.

For northwest Missouri senator Brad Lager, the announcement  also is an admission by the President that  the program is far more expensive than originally promoted. He says the year’s delay will be important in developing a solid Medicaid reform package.

AUDIO: Dempsey comments

AUDIO: Discussion on senate floor