Health / Medicine Archives - Page 2 of 293

Since late January, no coronavirus cases among Missouri veterans home residents

April 10, 2021 By Alisa Nelson

For the first time since March 2020, Missouri’s seven veterans homes are once again accepting applications for new residents. Due to the pandemic, new admissions had not been allowed since then.

The state-operated nursing homes caring for veterans are located in Cameron, Cape Girardeau, Mexico, Mount Vernon, St. James, St. Louis, and Warrensburg.

A coronavirus outbreak last year within the homes claimed the lives of at least 158 veterans. A press release from the Missouri Veterans Commission (MVC) says there have been no COVID-19 cases among patients in any of the homes since the end of January.

“In addition to complying with infection control guidance set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), MVC has implemented daily COVID-19 testing protocols for all staff and veterans along with continual infection control training. MVC has created a phased reopening approach based on real-time monitoring of the coronavirus in each Home and each community’s positivity rate,” the press release says.

Commission Spokeswoman Aimee Packard tells Missourinet real-time active staff testing/monitoring has identified three staff members are currently infected with the virus. Following a positive staff case, she says the individual must isolate at home for a minimum of 10 days, and MVC enacts the CDC Return to Work protocol for health care personnel. Any close contacts are isolated, and all staff complete an infection control refresher.

Following MVC protocols, Packard says the homes with active cases have canceled indoor visitation, deep cleaned any location the positive staff member has been and completed contact tracing.

To be eligible for admission to a Missouri veterans home, an individual must meet the criteria for veteran status established by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and require 24-hour skilled nursing health care services. Eligibility and admission decisions are made by a team comprising the home administrator, physician, director of nursing, social worker, Veterans Service Officer, and other professionals as needed. The following are also requirements for eligibility.

• The veteran must have been discharged under conditions other than dishonorable;
• The veteran must be a resident of Missouri who has maintained a physical residency in Missouri for 180 consecutive days (6 months) immediately prior to application for placement in a veterans home;
• The veteran must have documentation from a physician that he/she needs skilled nursing home care;
• The veteran’s health condition must be such that the home has the resources to care for him/her.

Veterans must have a negative coronavirus PCR test prior to admission. The commission strongly encourages all veterans to be fully vaccinated before admission to avoid a mandatory two-week quarantine upon arrival for non-vaccinated veterans.

Packard says the homes are allowing outdoor visits with family and friends and outings for the veterans.

Missouri House’s bipartisan budget increase for foster children praised by Kids Win Missouri (AUDIO)

April 8, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

A coalition that’s dedicated to improving the well-being of Missouri children is praising the Missouri House’s bipartisan approval of a $76 million increase for foster and adoptive children.

Missouri House Speaker Rob Vescovo (right) and House Budget Committee chairman Cody Smith (R-Carthage) listen to budget debate in the chamber on March 30, 2021 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Kids Win Missouri policy director Craig Stevenson says the House budget provides unprecedented support for the kinship and foster families who care for the thousands of children in Missouri foster care. The state Department of Social Services (DSS) says there are currently 13,917 foster care children in Missouri.

“It increases everything from the maintenance, the monthly maintenance payments that foster guardian and adoptive parents get. But then also increases important things like the diaper allowance for people who are caring for infants,” Stevenson says.

The House budget increases the infant care enhancement from $50 to $80 per month. There is a $44 per month foster care monthly maintenance increase for foster children ages 0-5, and $47 per month for ages 6-12. It’s $127 per month increase for foster teens.

Mr. Stevenson also notes the House budget includes a 45 percent increase to the clothing allowance for foster teens.

“We all know that it takes a lot of resources to clothe and keep our growing kids in appropriate clothing,” says Stevenson.

The House budget increases the clothing allowance for foster teens by $220 annually, up from the current $480. It also increases the clothing allowance for Missouri foster children ages 6-12 by $110 annually, up from the current $290.

Stevenson is thankful to House Speaker Rob Vescovo (R-Arnold) and to House members in both parties for their support, saying it represents a much-needed investment.

“Foster parenting is a calling, and we are grateful for the commitment of the House of Representatives in providing additional support for those caring for children,” Stevenson says.

Kids Win Missouri’s website says its mission is “to further child well-being by advancing the health, education, safety and development of Missouri children and their families, especially those who are at-risk because of poverty, abuse, neglect, racial inequities or other risk factors.”

Vescovo, who was elected House Speaker in January, focused on early childhood education and adoption during his opening day address. He called on state lawmakers that day to expand Missouri’s adoption tax credit, so that families who want to adopt a child aren’t blocked from doing it simply because of cost.

Speaker Vescovo was adopted.

The Missouri House approved a $34.1 billion state operating budget last week. That budget now heads to the Missouri Senate. The state Constitution requires Missouri lawmakers to approve a balanced budget by early May.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with Kids Win Missouri policy director Craig Stevenson, which was recorded on April 2, 2021:

Missouri, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska governors plan bipartisan Thursday meeting on river and Corps-related issues

April 8, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor will join the governors of Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska Thursday afternoon in Council Bluffs, to follow-up on Missouri River issues and about the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Governor Mike Parson talks to Missouri National Guard members in northern Missouri on June 3, 2019, after an aerial tour of massive flooding (file photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

This will be at least the fourth bipartisan meeting between Governor Mike Parson (R) and Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts (R), Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds (R) and Kansas Governor Laura Kelly (D). While their 3 p.m. meeting will be closed, the governors will brief reporters after the event at the Council Bluffs Police Department.

The governors have signed a four-state agreement to cooperate on issues relating to flood control and the Corps.

Governor Parson is still frustrated over the 2019 flooding, which hit northern Missouri especially hard. The Missouri Farm Bureau, the state’s largest general farm organization, says more than 1.4 million acres of farmland in the state went unplanted in 2019, due to flooding.

The flooding also caused the October 2019 collapse of the heavily-traveled railroad bridge over the Grand River in northern Missouri’s Brunswick, causing Norfolk Southern to suspend freight train service between Moberly and Kansas City for a time.

Brunswick is a small farming community, between Carrollton and Moberly. The National Weather Service (NWS) Missouri Basin River forecast center said in 2019 that backwater from flood debris helped cause that bridge to collapse. The logjam collapsed the train tracks.

Governor Parson will also be heading to northwest Missouri’s rural Rock Port on Thursday morning, to tour a major levee known as L-536. He’ll tour the levee and will meet with farmers who were impacted by the 2019 flooding.

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (R-Tarkio), who’s the ranking Republican on the House Transportation Committee on Capitol Hill, has told Missourinet that flood control and navigation must be the top priority for the Corps, regarding the Missouri River.

Rural Missouri congressional district has more square miles than nine U.S. states

April 7, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

A Missouri House committee working on congressional redistricting will hear public testimony Thursday morning in Jefferson City from residents in northern Missouri’s massive Sixth Congressional District, which covers more square miles than nine U.S. states.

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (left) meets with Missouri Governor Mike Parson at the Capitol in Jefferson City on February 24, 2020 (file photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

The district includes 36 of Missouri’s 114 counties. The Sixth District includes St. Joseph, Tarkio, Cameron, Chillicothe, Bethany, Trenton, Kirksville, Macon and Hannibal. The Missouri and Mississippi Rivers are both in the district.

The district is represented by U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (R-Tarkio), who’s the dean of Missouri’s congressional delegation. He’s serving his 11th term on Capitol Hill.

The Missouri House Special Committee on Redistricting will meet Thursday at 8:30 a.m. at the Statehouse in Jefferson City. The committee will hear in-person testimony, and written testimony will also be accepted. Committee Chair Dan Shaul (R-Imperial) says the committee is looking for information on what makes the district good and bad, and key characteristics about the district.

Flooding has been a major issue in the district, for the past 30 years. The flood of 1993 devastated the district. The entire town of Pattonsburg had to be relocated. The floods of 1995 and 2019 also caused major problems. Congressman Graves has been critical of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, for how they’ve managed the Missouri River.

Agriculture is also a big issue in the district, as is transportation. The district includes I-29, I-35 and Highway 36. Graves is the ranking Republican on the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Graves was re-elected to his 11th term in November, beating Democrat Gena Ross with 67 percent of the vote. Graves received 258,709 votes, while Ross received 118,926 votes.

Northern Missouri hasn’t sent a Democrat to Capitol Hill since former U.S. Rep. Pat Danner (D-Smithville), who served four terms from 1993-2000. The late U.S. Rep. Jerry Litton (D-Chillicothe) also represented the district, serving two terms from 1973-1976. Congressman Litton was killed in a plane crash in August 1976, after winning Missouri’s Democratic U.S. Senate nomination.

(AUDIO) Missouri’s third mega vaccination event comes at pivotal time

April 7, 2021 By Alisa Nelson

The state of Missouri is organizing its third mega vaccination event. Up to 10,000 total doses of coronavirus vaccine could be given Thursday and Friday at the Hammons Student Center on the Missouri State University campus.

Dr. Russell Kohl is a colonel in the Missouri National Guard and is also a family physician who is helping to organize the event. He encourages Missourians to get vaccinated during this pivotal time.

The Missouri National Guard, the state Department of Health and Senior Services and Pettis County health officials assist residents at a mass vaccination clinic in west-central Missouri’s Sedalia on February 23, 2021 (photo courtesy of the State Emergency Management Agency)

“We know that vaccine is effective for the B.1.1.7 variant that has been identified in the area,” he tells Missourinet. “We know that we are just far enough after spring break that if some folks didn’t pay attention to what they were supposed to be doing at spring break that we are about at the point where we would start to see an outbreak.”

Beginning Friday, all Missouri adults are eligible to get vaccinated statewide. The mega event is open to all eligible Missourians.

“Just in the past week, the Springfield-Greene County Health Department has announced the B.1.1.7 variant of COVID-19 there in Greene County. This is the variant that effects younger folks more and is easier to spread. It’s a great opportunity for the folks, particularly the college students and some of the younger folks who have not been eligible before, to be able to get that one and done Johnson & Johnson vaccine,” says Kohl.

According to the Sean Barnhill with the Springfield-Greene County Health Department, about 4,000 people have registered for the mega event so far.

Col. Kohl says registrants should plan to be there for about an hour. It is a walk thru event.

For Missourians who aren’t crazy about needles, Kohl says the worst part of anxiety is waiting for something to happen.

“Given the numbers of vaccines that we are trying to do, it is not uncommon at these sorts of events for us to be doing 125-150 shots every 15 minutes. Once you get to being near a vaccinator, there’s no time to worry anymore,” he says. “The shot is done.”

State-organized mass vaccination events have been going on since January. The state of Missouri has completed about 2.8 million total doses so far.

“The Missouri National Guard-supported events, so far in the state of Missouri, have administered over 250,000 doses. The National Guard-supported events, which really are a huge team effort of the National Guard supporting those local folks, we are still running about 10-12% of the overall vaccines in Missouri,” says Kohl.

According to Kohl, an event of Thursday’s and Friday’s size takes about 100 National Guard soldiers. Americorps volunteers, local public health department employees, and others are also helping.

“When we first started, really, the mass vaccination teams out in the different regions in late January, at that point those National Guard events were giving between 20-30% of the total doses in the state. We’ve been able to keep increasing the number of doses that we give, but as I just mentioned we are now down to 10-12%. So, that’s actually a great thing for the state of Missouri and kind of reflects how many more doses are coming into the state. Your local health departments, your doctor’s offices, your pharmacies – there’s a whole lot of people on the team trying to get shots in arms at this point.”

He says the plan is to use the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine for other mega events.

“From a public health perspective, when we are trying to get a large amount of the population vaccinated, being able to use that one and done vaccine is a really effective tool to help that,” says Kohl. “If we get 10,000 people to come out to Missouri State on Thursday and Friday, and a month from now we do it again, if we gave Pfizer or the Moderna vaccine, then at the end of that we would have 10,000 vaccinated Missourians, which is great. However, if we are able to use J&J for that event, with the exact same amount of work, a month from now we’ve got 20,000 Missourians vaccinated. This is all about a numbers game of being able to get as many shots in arms of Missourians and getting them immune as soon as possible.”

As far as no-shows go at the mass and mega events statewide, Col. Kohl says the workers have backup plans to use leftover vaccine and avoid waste. He says the no show rate can run in the 10-15% range overall.

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Spokeswoman Lisa Cox tells Missourinet whether booster shots will be needed around the fall to help prevent infection is not clear yet. She says manufacturers are preparing the vaccines just in case. Therefore, it is still too early to tell if the state will be organizing future mass vaccination events for booster shots.

To register for the Springfield event or another one, go to mostopscovid.com.

The full interview is below.

Missouri’s House Budget Committee chair outlines alternative to Medicaid expansion; Kirk Mathews is Acting Medicaid director

April 6, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s House Budget Committee learned new details Tuesday in Jefferson City about a budget blueprint from the committee chair to direct dollars slated for Medicaid expansion for other programs, including MO HealthNet. That’s the state Medicaid program.

Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith (R-Carthage) speaks on the House floor in Jefferson City on April 1, 2021 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Democrats are expected to oppose the plan, saying Missouri voters approved Medicaid expansion in August.

Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith (R-Carthage) and the House Appropriations director presented House Bill 21, which is an eight-page bill. It’s just over $1 billion, with $894 million of that coming from federal funds.

Funding includes $26 million for programs like respite care, adult day care and home-delivered meals. Chairman Smith testifies the funding also includes $88.2 million for funding long-term care services for care in nursing facilities.

“This is an appropriation, a rate increase, that again as you (the House Appropriations director) noted, it’s written as a one-time increase. I think it’s up for up for question as to whether or not this should be a general revenue increase, or perhaps an f-map increase,” Smith testifies.

He says this involves a one-time nursing facility rate increase of about $10 per day.

While Chairman Smith opposes Medicaid expansion, his plan would provide an additional $735 million to the MO HealthNet Division for transitional payments. House Appropriations Director Glenn Fitzgerald testifies this is a brand-new proposal.

“This is 735-and-a-half million (dollars) federal funds for transitional payments related to Medicaid reform,” Fitzgerald testifies.

Then-State Rep. Kirk Mathews (R-Eureka) speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on April 7, 2016 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

HB 21 also includes $18 million for k-12 public school transportation, and $2 million for adult high schools. It also includes $11.6 million for treatment for alcohol and drug abuse, and $2.2 million for youth community programs. It also provides about $1 million in additional funding for the State Public Defender System.

There was no testimony in support or in opposition to Smith’s bill on Tuesday. Chairman Smith tells the audience that he hopes for a mark-up on either Thursday or Monday. This is a short week in Jefferson City, due to the Easter break.

Medicaid is a federal and state program that assists with medical costs for residents with limited incomes. 53 percent of Missouri voters approved Medicaid expansion in August, although it failed in 105 of the state’s 114 counties. Rural House members from those districts have led the opposition to funding Medicaid expansion.

House Democrats and Amendment Two supporters say Missouri voters have spoken. They say Medicaid expansion will help the working poor by expanding the program for residents between the ages of 19 and 64 with an income level at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty level.

The House voted to give final approval last week to a $34.1 billion state operating budget, which does not contain funding for Medicaid expansion.

We also learned during Tuesday’s one-hour hearing that former State Rep. Kirk Mathews (R-Eureka) is serving as the interim director at Missouri Medicaid, with Director Todd Richardson out on leave.

Mathews has been MO HealthNet’s chief transformation officer. He was first elected to the Missouri House in 2014 and and served two terms, from 2015-2018.

What we’re watching this week in the Missouri Legislature: PDMP, budget, foster care and human cloning

April 5, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

Legislation that would create a prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) is expected to receive final approval from the Missouri Senate in Jefferson City on Tuesday.

Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden (R-Columbia) tells Missourinet that the PDMP issue should come up tomorrow. That’s when state lawmakers return to Jefferson City, following the Easter break.

State Rep. Robert Sauls (D-Independence) speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on March 31, 2021 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The Senate voted to give initial approval to PDMP last week, and it had bipartisan support. Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz (R-Sullivan), who voted for Senate Bill 63, tells Missourinet Sullivan affiliate KTUI that informed doctors make better decisions.

“49 states currently have a PDMP, and actually it just provides a layer of protection against drug and dependency and dangerous drug interactions,” Schatz tells KTUI.

A PDMP is an electronic database that collects data on controlled substance prescriptions within a state. Missouri is the only state in the nation without a PDMP.

Opponents of Senate Bill 63, including State Sen. Mike Moon (R-Ash Grove), worry about potential data breaches.

Pro Tem Schatz also says the state operating budget will get a lot of attention in his chamber during the next five weeks. The House has approved a $34.1 billion budget, that does not include funding for Medicaid expansion. The budget now heads to the Senate.

“The governor had made recommendations. The House has made their modifications to it and now it’s our turn to work through the things that we think are priorities in funding in this state,” says Schatz.

The state Constitution requires Missouri lawmakers to approve a balanced budget, by early May.

State Rep. Sara Walsh (R-Ashland) speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on March 22, 2021 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Across the Capitol Rotunda in the Missouri House, the Budget Committee meets Tuesday afternoon at 12:30 to hear testimony from Committee Chairman Cody Smith (R-Carthage) about his budget proposal to use Medicaid expansion funding for other programs.

Medicaid is formally known as MO HealthNet, and it’s a federal and state program that assists with medical costs for residents with limited incomes. 53 percent of Missouri voters approved Medicaid expansion in August, although it failed in 105 of the state’s 114 counties. Rural House members from those districts led the opposition to Medicaid expansion last week. Amendment Two supporters say the measure expands Medicaid for residents between the ages of 19 and 64 with an income level at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty level.

Chairman Smith says Medicaid expansion would help able bodied adults, many who choose not to work. He’s filed a bill to use the $1.9 billion to instead support seniors in nursing homes, to provide care for the developmentally disabled and to expand mental health programs. It would also increase k-12 school transportation funding. That proposal will be outlined on Tuesday.

Meantime, the Missouri House Emerging Issues Committee meets Tuesday evening at 5, to hear a foster care proposal from State Rep. Robert Sauls (D-Independence). House Bill 1335 would prevent children from being aged out of foster care during a pandemic.

“During uncertain and difficult times, our most vulnerable children shouldn’t have to worry about homelessness,” Representative Sauls tells Missourinet. “That’s why I sponsored HB 1335. I want to make sure that during a moment of crisis, the children of Missouri have the stability that they need.”

Foster care continues to be a bipartisan issue at the Missouri Capitol. It’s also a top priority for House Speaker Rob Vescovo (R-Arnold).

The human cloning issue will also come up this week in a House committee. The Children and Families Committee will hear testimony on Wednesday morning from State Rep. Sara Walsh (R-Ashland), which would prohibit public expenditure of public funds for research projects involving abortion services and human cloning.

Walsh’s proposal is House Bill 852.

Former state legislator Kolkmeyer is focused on protecting Missouri ratepayers at Public Service Commission (AUDIO)

April 5, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

A former state lawmaker who’s been appointed to the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) is grateful for the appointment, and is pledging to focus on protecting Missouri utility ratepayers.

Former State Rep. Glen Kolkmeyer (R-Odessa) speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on March 18, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Former State Rep. Glen Kolkmeyer (R-Odessa) served eight years in the House, from 2013 to 2020. He was forced out by term limits. Mr. Kolkmeyer is also the former Missouri Propane Gas Association president, and served as Wellington-Napoleon’s fire chief from 1982-2002.

“Three weeks ago, I was extremely honored when Governor Mike Parson called and asked me to serve on the Missouri Public Service Commission, as a commissioner. I was just extremely honored,” Kolkmeyer says.

The PSC regulates investor-owned electric, natural gas, steam, water and sewer utilities in Missouri. The PSC also has some jurisdiction over telecommunication providers in Missouri.

“Honestly, I don’t know that I have any big priorities other than just protecting the citizens of Missouri with the utilities. That’s really my one and only goal and focus,” says Kolkmeyer.

Kolkmeyer is a former chairman of both the Missouri House Transportation Committee and the House Administration and Accounts Committee. He tells Missourinet that he learned a lot about utilities, while serving in the House.

“I served on (the Missouri House) Transportation (Committee) all eight years and we dealt with a few of these issues. Also, issues on the (House) floor, but I also served two years on the Utilities Committee in the House,” Kolkmeyer says.

He was a leader on transportation issues in the House, and pushed unsuccessfully for a ten-cent gasoline tax increase in November 2018. Proposition D, which was rejected by voters, would have provided the state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) with additional funding. Missouri’s 17-cent per gallon gas tax has remained the same since 1996.

Kolkmeyer, who represented Jackson, Johnson and Lafayette counties, was re-elected to his fourth and final House term in 2018. He received about 69 percent of the vote to defeat Democratic challenger Connie Simmons.

Meantime, former Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr (R-Springfield) is praising the appointment, tweeting that he’s proud and excited for Kolkmeyer. Speaker Haahr describes Kolkmeyer as one of the best in the Missouri Legislature.

His appointment requires Missouri Senate confirmation, and he will go before the Senate Gubernatorial Appointments Committee. A hearing date hasn’t been set yet.

State Sen. Denny Hoskins (R-Warrensburg), who represents Lafayette County, tells Missourinet that he looks forward to sponsoring Kolkmeyer’s nomination.

Click here to listen to the full two-minute interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and former State Rep. Glen Kolkmeyer (R-Odessa), which was recorded on April 2, 2021:

Missouri bill would lower school immunization requirements

April 5, 2021 By Alisa Nelson

Missouri children attending daycares, K-12 public schools, or public higher education schools might not be required to get vaccinated against certain illnesses – if they have a “conscientious belief” opposing the immunizations. State Representative Suzie Pollock, R-Lebanon, is proposing the change for vaccinations against polio, rubella, rubeola, mumps, tetanus, whooping cough, diphtheria, and hepatitis B.

Current state law allows student vaccination exemptions for religious and medical reasons.

Her bill would also mean the state’s roughly 120,000 K-12 private, parochial, and parish school students would not have to get those vaccinations.

Missouri Capitol (Photo by Alisa Nelson)

Pollock says the state needs to reign in schools and local health departments.

“They require forms. Some schools and health departments require that the form be put on card stock or have a certain seal, or that they have to make an appointment with a nurse and watch a video. The difficulties just keep mounting and they make it more and more difficult every day,” Pollock says.

The legislation would only require the meningitis vaccination for Missouri college students living in publicly owned housing.

During a House committee hearing, Pollock, a registered cardiovascular invasive specialist, says more than 72 vaccination doses are required of students by the time they are 18, but most in the first four years.

“In 1982, there were 24 doses. And today, there are over 72 doses. There are no studies that they (vaccinations) are making them better,” says Pollock.

Linda Neumann, with the Missouri Association of School Nurses, says 31 doses are required before age 18 – not 72. She tells Missourinet the bill would weaken the state’s immunization requirements for kids at a time when other states are strengthening theirs.

“We believe that childhood immunizations are safe and effective. This is a real pivotal time for us. I hate to see us loosen our requirements,” she says. “Children in – it doesn’t matter what their setting is – whether it’s public, private, or parochial, they all deserve to live healthier and be free of communicable diseases. We have seen what’s happened with COVID-19 and what can happen with a communicable disease.”

Another example she points to is the measles.

“It’s extremely contagious and can lead to all kinds of things that you don’t want like blindness or brain damage, which is possible from the very high fevers. But thanks to the measles vaccine, we went from four million cases annually to in the year 2000, we were declared measles free in our country. But unfortunately the decline in the vaccination rate has led to a return to a measles outbreak,” she says. “In 2019, we had 1,282 cases, I believe, in the United States.”

Neumann cites a study saying about 40% of parents against vaccinations oppose them for philosophical reasons and another 60% oppose them due to inconvenience. She says there has been a huge effort, especially in Missouri, to increase access to students whose parents might not have the means to get their children to an immunization appointment.

“There are schools that have immunization vans come out during the summer to help run kids through before school starts,” says Neumann. “We’re doing everything we can to make it easier on parents, but we need parents’ help too. We understand that there are truly religious exemptions, but we also understand that not having your child immunized just because it’s an inconvenience leads to a bigger population that’s not immunized and we start losing herd immunity. We know that herd immunity works.”

Pollock calls the legislation a freedom bill.

“It separates and weakens government overreach into our private schools, businesses, and property,” says Pollock.

Neumann says she understands that people have rights and liberties.

“But we all have those rights and liberties. We have a right to feel protected from communicable diseases when we have vaccine to prevent these things,” says Neumann.

The Missouri House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee has voted 10-6 in favor of the bill. The House Rules Committee is considering Pollock’s measure.

To view House Bill 37, click here.

Medicaid expansion not included in final Missouri House budget; heated floor debate involves scripture

April 1, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

After a heated floor debate that included numerous biblical references, the Missouri House voted Thursday afternoon to give final approval to a $34.1 billion state operating budget. The House budget does not contain funding for Medicaid expansion.

House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith (R-Carthage) and State Rep. Brad Hudson (R-Cape Fair) have a discussion on the Missouri House floor on April 1, 2021 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The operating budget now heads to the Missouri Senate, and Medicaid expansion supporters hope senators will include the funding. The state Constitution requires Missouri lawmakers to approve a balanced budget, by early May.

Medicaid is formally known as MO HealthNet, and it’s a federal and state program that assists with medical costs for residents with limited incomes. In August, 53 percent of Missouri voters approved Medicaid expansion, although it failed in 105 of the state’s 114 counties. Rural House members from those districts led the opposition to Medicaid expansion this week.

Amendment Two supporters say the measure expands Medicaid for residents between the ages of 19 and 64 with an income level at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty level.

House Republicans, led by House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith (R-Carthage) say Medicaid expansion would help able bodied adults, many who choose not to work. Smith has filed a bill to use the $1.9 billion to instead support seniors in nursing homes, to provide care for the developmentally disabled and to expand mental health programs.

State Rep. Doug Richey (R-Excelsior Springs), who serves on the House Budget Committee, supports Chairman Smith’s position. Richey says it’s important for state government to prioritize.

“What we are doing in this is we are prioritizing the most vulnerable among us,” Richey tells House colleagues.

State Rep. Michael Burton (D-Lakeshire) speaks about Medicaid expansion on the Missouri House floor on April 1, 2021 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The Missouri House Health and Mental Health Policy Committee’s top Democrat is criticizing House Republicans for approving a budget that doesn’t include Medicaid expansion. She voted against the budget bill.

“In 2010 I became an activist and supported President (Barack) Obama’s Affordable Care Act, because it was the right thing to do and thank God that I did. Because it saved my life,” State Rep. LaDonna Appelbaum (D-St. Louis County) tells colleagues.

Appelbaum also talked about her experience with chemotherapy.

Thursday’s debate included numerous references to the Bible, with lawmakers in both parties invoking Jesus’ name and quoting scripture. State Rep. Michael Burton (D-Lakeshire) asked Republicans what Jesus would do about people in need without health care, and State Rep. Trish Gunby (D-Manchester) notes her United Methodist Church believes health care is a right.

But State Rep. Ben Baker (R-Neosho), a minister and former dean of students at Neosho’s Ozark Bible Institute, quoted the Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians on the floor.

“If you don’t work, you don’t eat,” Baker tells the House. He accuses House Democrats of hypocrisy, and State Rep. Nick Schroer (R-O’Fallon) agreed. Schroer says Democrats quote the Roman Catholic Church and other religions, when it’s something they agree with.

State Rep. Keri Ingle (D-Lee’s Summit), quoted Matthew Chapter 25 in a Thursday tweet.

“Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.”

Governor Parson was asked about the House’s effort on Wednesday, during a live interview on Missourinet Sedalia affiliate KDRO (AM 1490).

“We’ll have to see how that goes in the Senate there. We did put the money in the budget for that,” Parson tells KDRO. “People did vote for it. Although I didn’t support it (Medicaid expansion) at the time but the reality of it is, the people of the state voted for it. I thought it was my obligation as governor to make sure we try to get it implemented. We’ll see though. The House voted against that … a little different maneuver I want to say, I guess. We’ll see what the Senate does and we’ll see how it comes out at the end of the day.”

Missouri lawmakers have left Jefferson City for their Easter break. They’ll return to the Capitol on Tuesday.

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