Delivers Healthcare to Missourians Who Have Jobs Without Insurance and Can’t Afford to See a Doctor
Too many Missouri families are slipping through the cracks in our healthcare system — forced to choose between paying for life-saving care and putting food on the table or making a mortgage payment to keep their home. These families earn too much to qualify for Medicaid and not enough to be able to afford coverage on the health insurance exchange.
Medicaid expansion closes that coverage gap and ensures that hardworking Missourians will have access to affordable healthcare. It helps people nearing retirement who have lost their insurance, those with chronic medical conditions, and all Missourians who earn less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level (that’s less than $18,000 for an individual or $30,000 for a family of three). Medicaid expansion would provide healthcare to more than 230,000 Missourians - including more than 50,000 parents and 18,000 near retirees.
Brings Our Tax Dollars Home from Washington, D.C., to Create Thousands of Jobs, Keep Rural Hospitals Open, And Boost Our Economy
Helping our neighbors access healthcare is not only the right thing to do — it’s the financially responsible thing too. Medicaid expansion would bring more than a billion of our tax dollars home from Washington, D.C., every year. That’s money that 36 other states get right now but Missouri has lost out on for years.
By bringing our tax dollars home, we’ll provide healthcare to more than 230,000 people, keep rural hospitals open, and create thousands of new jobs. And the new money spent in our state will boost our economy too — something that will help our businesses and all Missourians.
Keeps Rural Hospitals Open
For years, our state has left billions of our tax dollars in Washington, ignoring the healthcare needs of rural communities. Since 2014 alone, ten rural hospitals have shuttered their doors and closed for good, forcing people to drive longer distances to reach a hospital when suffering from a heart attack or another medical emergency. By bringing our money home, we can deliver healthcare to Missourians who have lower-paying jobs that don’t come with insurance, and we can protect rural healthcare.
Saves Us Money
Medicaid expansion is a cost-effective-solution because we’re already paying for it. We’re just not getting the benefits right now — benefits that include bringing more than a billion of our tax dollars home from Washington every year, creating thousands of jobs, and boosting our economy.
Currently, we pay for healthcare in the most expensive way possible. When Missouri families who can’t afford health insurance end up in the emergency room to treat a life-threatening condition, we often end up footing the bill through state and local taxes and higher insurance premiums. By expanding Medicaid, we can fix that. We can get Missourians access to care, and save money at the same time.