House Democrats have made another attempt to get federal money for Medicaid built into the state budget.
Representative Jeff Roorda (photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Representative Jeff Roorda (D-Barnhart) offered a motion that would have allowed the House-Senate budget conference committee to consider adopting Medicaid expansion.
“To allow us to take about $900 million in federal funds, provide health insurance to 300,000 Missourians and put 25,000 Missourians back to work with our own tax money … the money we sent to Washington D.C. and Washington D.C. is trying to send that back here.”
Roorda says Medicaid expansion is the greatest job-creating proposal bill he’s ever seen as a legislator.
“If you cobble together every jobs bill, every economic development bill that has been filed … not passed, but filed … in the 7 years that I’ve served up here, they don’t even come close to creating the number of jobs that we create through Medicaid expansion. 25,000 jobs … we usually consider it swinging for the fences when we try to bring in an employer that creates 500 or even 1,000 jobs.”
Representative Jay Barnes (R-Jefferson City) says it’s more of the same debate.
“This body has been down this road before … and what the gentlemen’s amendment does is it attempts to build a Medicaid mansion on a crumbling foundation. I think there’s a better solution out there … hopefully we can work on it over the summer.”
Roorda’s motion was defeated along party lines, 53-102.
The House has voted to send Barnes’ proposal that would create a joint interim committee to study Medicaid reform to the Senate.