This Wednesday, the Obamacare crowd introduced, and then withdrew, their final attempt at Medicaid expansion in Missouri. That means the state will not expand Obamacare for another year, and that’s good news for Missourians. It isn’t “conservative” to strap a spending bomb to substantive Medicaid reforms and then call the whole thing a “transformation.” Legislators were right to reject it.
Instead of suggesting that special interests will block substantive Medicaid reform, Missouri’s policymakers should stand up, fight the special interests rather than carry their legislation, and deliver the Medicaid fixes we have been promised for years. That some lawmakers would articulate specific reforms and yet would block their progress as a way to force an expansion is as cynical as it is disappointing.
No doubt, expansion supporters will promise that the Medicaid fight will continue next year. And they’re correct. We’ll see you then.
