Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced May 26th he’s moving up the date that voters will decide whether to expand Medicaid health care coverage to thousands more low-income adults in the state.

Advocates for expanding Medicaid in Missouri gathered nearly 350,000 citizen signatures to get placed on the ballot as an initiative that would allow Missouri voters to choose to expand Medicaid in the state.

Missouri ballot initiatives automatically go on the November general election ballot unless the governor acts otherwise. Parson, a Republican, has been outspoken in his opposition to Medicaid expansion and running to keep his seat as governor this fall.
State Auditor Nicole Galloway, the presumed Democratic Governor nominee, said Parson’s true motivation if fear of having to defend his opposition to Medicaid expansion as a candidate on the November ballot.

Parson said he put the measure on the Aug. 4 primary ballot instead because the state needs as much time as possible to financially prepare if the measure is approved.

Moving the question to the August ballot is what Republicans did in 2018 when faced with a campaign by labor unions to repeal the right-to-work law. Labor successfully won the battle and proved to Republicans that by moving an issue to a forecasted lower voter turnout election does not necessarily guarantee a win.
“Pass or fail, it is important that we understand the implications of what would be a new spending bill out of our already depleted general revenue,” Parson said.
Missouri’s Medicaid program currently does not cover most adults without children, and it’s income eligibility threshold for parents is one of the lowest in the nation at about one-fifth of the poverty level.

Studies provided show it would not only provide health care to low-income Missourians, but it could also save money by capturing additional federal funding to cover various health services paid for by the state. According to a Georgetown University Health Policy Institute study, during the first year of expansion in Louisiana the state save $199 million.

Galloway said, “The governor and his special interest allies have already started to mislead voters, telling them that they must choose between funding our schools or access to health care.”

Thirty-six states have adopted Medicaid expansion measures.

Supporters estimate 230,000 additional adults would enroll in Missouri’s Medicaid program, if voters approve the expansion.

Missouri’s Republican-led Legislature had repeatedly rejected Medicaid expansion proposals over the past decade, which prompted supporters to turn to the initiative process. By proposing a constitutional amendment instead of a new law, supporters have ensured that lawmakers will be unable to change it without going back to voters.

Democratic gubernatorial challenger Nicole Galloway’s campaign manager, Chris Sloan, in a statement said Parson was putting the measure on the August ballot because “he hopes that a smaller electorate will give him a better chance of misleading the voters and defeating it.”

In April, the political action committee supporting the Medicaid ballot measure reported having more than $400,000 cash on hand. The group has received large donations in the past, proving they can raise the cash needed to fight their battle.

Among other concerns, moving the initiative to the historically less attended Aug 4. primary date, is the coronavirus pandemic which will inevitably play out to be a factor.

Candidate for Missouri Governor
Nicole Galloway

State Auditor Nicole Galloway said, “Now more than ever Missouri needs health care, but Gov. Parson put his own political needs ahead of hundreds of thougsands of working Missourians”.