Missouri voters approve Medicaid expansion

Missouri voters yesterday approved an expansion of the state’s Medicaid initiative, the second state to do so during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The amendment, which passed with nearly 53% of the vote, requires the Missouri Department of Social Services and the Missouri HealthNet Division to submit a Medicaid plan by March 1, 2021, to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and provide the expansion no later than July 2021.

“This is a victory for all Missourians,” said Herb Kuhn, president and CEO of the Missouri Hospital Association. “Other states have provided a laboratory for how Medicaid expansion can act as a tool to transform not only the lives of the individuals covered, but the program itself. They have used this program to both strengthen their state’s economy and improve the health status of their state. We can do the same.”