House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith Archives

Missouri Medicaid Director Richardson to present budget this week (AUDIO)

February 9, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The state’s Medicaid director will present his budget to the Missouri House Budget Committee Tuesday morning in Jefferson City.

Former Missouri House Speaker Todd Richardson opens a special session on June 11, 2018. Richardson is now the state’s Medicaid director (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The hearing is set for 8:15.

During his January State of the State Address, Governor Mike Parson (R) credited former House Speaker and current Medicaid director Todd Richardson for finding $84 million in savings, in the Medicaid system.

“While some in the press are eager to criticize this improved efficiency – or outright misrepresent it – the truth is that this system has been broken for many years and unproductively serving every Missourian who is paying for it,” Governor Parson told a joint session of the Legislature on January 15, in Jefferson City.

Richardson says that savings is important.

“Across the program, you know with both big chunks and small chunks we’ve been working to identify those efficiencies that allow us to deliver a better program,” Richardson says.

Medicaid is a federal and state program that assists with medical costs for residents with limited incomes. Missouri’s Medicaid budget is about $10 billion, accounting for more than one-third of the state’s $30 billion operating budget.

Governor Mike Parson criticized Medicaid expansion during his State of the State Address on January 15, 2020 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Governor Parson and Richardson say that savings is important to protect citizens who need Medicaid services the most. Director Richardson says there’s more work to do.

“We’ve got to work together to build a best-in-class Medicaid program that provides for the needs of Missouri’s most vulnerable, but does so in a way that’s financially sustainable,” says Richardson.

Richardson was appointed to his post by Governor Parson, and has been in the position since November 2018.

Statistics provided by the state Department of Social Services (DSS) show the number of Missourians on Medicaid has decreased from 953,000 in August 2018 to 846,000 now. Richardson will likely face some questions on Tuesday from lawmakers about thousands of children who have recently been removed from Medicaid.

The “Springfield News-Leader” reported this weekend that State Rep. David Wood, R-Versailles, says thousands of children removed from the Medicaid rolls were likely still eligible for coverage. The newspaper quotes Wood as saying that paperwork for the parents is horrendous, and that the state could do a better job of helping people through the process.

Wood is the House Budget Committee’s vice chairman.

Another issue that could come up during the hearing is Medicaid expansion. Governor Parson opposes it, as does Richardson. Director Richardson tells Missourinet he’s focused on reforming Medicaid, not expanding it.

“There will be a tremendous cost to Medicaid expansion and costs that frankly the state doesn’t have,” Richardson says.

Richardson’s focus is on operating a better program that produces better outcomes, in a financially sustainable way.

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, and House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, also oppose Medicaid expansion. They say it would take dollars out of the classroom, noting it requires a ten percent match for the 90 percent draw down.

Speaker Haahr has warned that it would blow a hole in the general revenue budget.

But Democrats like House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, and State Rep. Deb Lavender, D-Kirkwood, support Medicaid expansion. They have said 100,000 children have lost their Medicaid coverage and that it’s an emergency.

The organization “Healthcare for Missouri” also backs Medicaid expansion, citing a recent report from the Missouri Hospital Association and nine other healthcare organizations.

“This new research (the new report) only adds to the growing body of fact-based evidence that Medicaid expansion will not just save lives but could also save taxpayers money. The recent examples of Arkansas, Indiana, and Ohio show three states that have used Medicaid-derived savings to cut income taxes, increase government efficiency and improve worker productivity,” Healthcare for Missouri campaign spokesman Jack Cardetti’s statement reads, in part.

Medicaid expansion supporters also note that eight rural Missouri hospitals have closed in recent years.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and State Medicaid Director Todd Richardson, which was recorded on January 15, 2020 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City:

Maple Leaf Festival organizers expect 70,000 to 80,000 on Saturday in southwest Missouri town (AUDIO)

October 17, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

More than 70,000 people are expected to travel to the small southwest Missouri town of Carthage for Saturday’s 53rd annual Maple Leaf Festival, which celebrates the town’s glorious fall colors.

The popular Maple Leaf Festival parade in Carthage is southwest Missouri’s largest parade (2017 photo courtesy of the Carthage Chamber of Commerce)

Carthage is known as the Maple Leaf City. While the festival is a month-long event, Saturday is the biggest day. Carthage Chamber of Commerce President Mark Elliff says the festival, which began in 1966 as a marching band competition, keeps growing.

“Back in the late 80’s I was involved in it and it was a big event then, but not nearly as big as what it is today,” Elliff says.

Saturday’s festivities begin bright and early with a 6 a.m. pancake breakfast, followed by the parade, the largest parade in southwest Missouri.

“It starts at 9 o’clock. Our goal is to have the parade over within two hours because you get beyond that people, I mean they love a parade, but they don’t love it more than two hours worth,” says Elliff.

The parade route is about two miles. There will be more than 150 entries in the parade, including floats and political figures. House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, will join Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe (R) in the parade. Elliff says Kehoe will be bringing a stagecoach on Saturday.

Chairman Smith tells Missourinet the Maple Leaf Festival is essentially a local holiday in Carthage. The town of 14,000 is northeast of Joplin.

Elliff says volunteers are key to the festival’s success. Carthage firefighters make the pancakes, while the Rotary Club cooks brats on the town square, for scholarships.

“We actually start in February of each year beginning the planning,” Elliff says.

Saturday’s events also include food vendors, funnel cakes, a lobster boil, 5K run and a car show. The marching band festival begins at noon.

Click here to view the entire schedule of events for the Maple Leaf Festival.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Carthage Chamber of Commerce President Mark Elliff, which was recorded on October 17, 2019:

Missouri lawmakers to tackle Medicaid expansion issue on Tuesday

October 7, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

A Missouri House subcommittee will hear testimony on the issue of Medicaid expansion Tuesday at the Statehouse in Jefferson City.

State Rep. Steve Helms, R-Springfield

The House Subcommittee on Health Care Reform will hold Tuesday’s hearing at 12:30.

Subcommittee chairman Steve Helms, R-Springfield, tells Missourinet his committee aim is to improve access to health care and make it more affordable for Missourians. Helms says the subcommittee is looking at ways to reduce costs for individuals.

Helms also tells Missourinet the subcommittee will issue a report to the full committee.

Medicaid expansion has primarily been a party-line issue in the Legislature, and Republicans currently control the House 113-43.

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, opposes Medicaid expansion, saying it would take dollars out of the classroom. He notes it would require a ten percent match for the 90 percent draw down.

Speaker Haahr says Medicaid expansion “would blow a sizable hole in our general revenue budget,” because of the match.

Missouri House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, briefs Capitol reporters on September 11, 2019, along with Assistant Minority Leader Tommie Pierson, D-St. Louis, and Minority Whip Keri Ingle, D-Lee’s Summit (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, shares Speaker Haahr’s position, because of the impact on the state budget.

House Democratic Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, supports Medicaid expansion, saying 100,000 children have lost their Medicaid health care coverage. She says it’s an emergency.

Statistics provided by the state Department of Social Services (DSS) show the number of Missourians on Medicaid has decreased from 953,000 in August 2018 to 850,000 now.

State Rep. Deb Lavender, D-Kirkwood, predicts state revenue will increase, if Medicaid expansion happens. Lavender is the ranking Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Appropriations for Health, Mental Health and Social Services.

Lavender notes eight rural Missouri hospitals have closed in recent years.

Missouri’s Medicaid budget is now about one-third of the state’s approximately $29 billion operating budget.

Haahr and Quade have different perspectives on Missouri Medicaid expansion

September 26, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri House Speaker and House Democrats view the issue of Medicaid expansion differently.

Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, briefs Capitol reporters on September 11, 2019 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, says Medicaid expansion would hurt education, by taking dollars out of the classroom.

“To do Medicaid expansion in Missouri would require a ten percent match for the 90 percent draw down,” Haahr tells Capitol reporters. “That would blow a sizable hole in our general revenue budget.”

An initiative petition effort for Medicaid expansion is being criticized by Speaker Haahr, primarily because of that ten percent match.

“One of the things that we’ve done since I’ve been in the Legislature (since 2013) is we’ve fully funded the k-12 (education foundation) formula, we’ve made a big attempt to try to bring our higher education funding up,” says Haahr. “Those two areas would have an incredible hit if we were to have to cut several hundred million dollars out of the budget and fund that.”

House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, tells Missourinet he shares the Speaker’s position, because of the impact on the state budget.

Missouri House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, briefs the Capitol Press Corps on September 11, 2019 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Meantime, the Democratic leader in the Missouri House supports Medicaid expansion. House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, tells Capitol reporters about 100,000 Missouri children have lost their Medicaid health care coverage.

“This is something that we (lawmakers) should be talking about. We have Missourians all over the state, not just rural Missouri, urban Missouri, who are losing access to health care,” Quade says. “And that is a true emergency and not tax breaks.”

Leader Quade has called for a formal House committee investigation of the Medicaid enrollment decline. The state Department of Social Services (DSS) has provided statistics to Missourinet, which show the number of Missourians on Medicaid has dropped from about 953,000 in August 2018 to about 850,000 now.

During the recent veto session, Lavender spoke on the House floor in Jefferson City, noting that eight rural Missouri hospitals have closed.

“I believe our number is up to eight rural hospitals that we’ve lost in our state. So yes, this would be one of the ways that we would be able to at least provide some type of health care,” Lavender said that day. She was referring to a health care bill from State Rep. Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport.

Missouri’s Medicaid budget is now about one-third of the state’s $29 billion operating budget.

Republicans currently control the Missouri House 113-43.