Hospitals Discuss Medicaid Expansion (8-25-20)

Hospitals Discuss Medicaid Expansion (8-25-20)

Covid-19 has brought a new urgency and focus to medicaid expansion.

With millions facing unemployment and loss of health insurance -- the governor of kansas has urged state lawmakers to expand coverage.

It's one of just 12 states that have opted not to.

Missouri voters however expanded medicaid earlier this month at the ballot box.

Kq2's madeline mcclain tells us what amendment 2 means for missourians, hospitals, and the state budget.

<<script:when missouri passed medicaid expansion in early august -- hospitals had a lot to celebrate.mary becker, senior vp of mo.

Hospital association: : in 2018, state's hospitals incurred $1.5 billion in uncompensated care.

Mary becker is with missouri hospital association -- one of the groups pushing for expansion.mary becker, senior vp of mo.

Hospital association: we have been advocating for medicaid expansion since it became an option under the affordable care act because people are left in a gap.about 230- thousand missourians fall into the coverage gap much money to get medicaid.and too little to qualify for tax credits to buy coverage through the marketplace.mary becker, senior vp of mo.

Hospital association: : "you can only earn about $5,000 a year and be a custodial parent to qualify for medicaid in missouri.

If you are a single adult you are out of options."

Under the affordable care act -- states can "expand" medicaid coverage so that more people qualify.then the federal government picks up 90 percent of the tab.

States kick in the other 10.pat dillon, chief gov.

& community relations officer of mosaic life care: the opponents to medicaid expansion, the big fear is that we can't afford to do this but the good thing is we are not a pilot program.

There's been 37 other states that have done this.pat dillon is mosaic life care's chief liaison for government issues.

He says the sticker price may be jarring -- but it costs more for us not to do it.pat dillon, chief gov.

& community relations officer of mosaic life care: they let their health go long and they get really sick and they show up in an emergency room and it's a much more expensive kind of care when they come to our emergency room.mary becker, senior vp of mo.

Hospital association: a physician who said i just admitted a woman who is uninsured with stage 4 breast cancer.

He said she had just refused to come in because she didn't want to have a medical bill so it's just examples like that that physicians see time and time again.take for example the $1.5 billion a year that missouri hospitals foot in unpaid medical bills -- with northwest missouri paying about $87 million of that.a billion dollars could go to keeping rural hospitals open.

Missouri has lost 10 since 2014.pat dillon, chief gov.

& community relations officer of mosaic life care:half of the rural hospitals out there operated at just a bottom line or negative margin.

They are not hardly making money if any at all.advocates also say the influx of federal dollars could boost the state economy -- and create thousands of jobs.mary becker, senior vp of mo.

Hospital association: the increase in funding would increase an average of 16,330 jobs a year in that 4 year period, 923 of those are in the northwest region.and most importantly -- they say this will save lives.pat dillon, chief gov.

& community relations officer of mosaic life care: there's a lot more people that are unemployed now.

There are an awful lot of people that may not go back to work.

We have a group of people out there that may have to take advantage of this that maybe wouldn't have even thought about this six months ago so to have this in place to be able to capture people that are very often working poor.reporting in st.

Joseph madeline mcclain kq2 news.>> tag: with missouri voters approval -- the amendment will open medicaid eligibility on july 1, 2021.

Missouri lawmakers have until july 1st a year from now to implement medicaid expansion.