On August 4, Missourians will have the opportunity to vote to expand our Medicaid program to cover 230,000 residents in need. Expansion would cover individuals making up to $18,000 per year, offering so many of our neighbors the financial protection we need now more than ever. It would allow people to get and stay healthy, go to work, and take care of themselves and their families.
Medicaid expansion will also help our economy recover. Expanding the program would create 16,000 new jobs on average per year including an estimated 1,200 new jobs per year for Black Missourians and 440 new jobs per year for Hispanic Missourians. By law, the federal government would cover 90% of the costs of an expanded Medicaid program, this year and every year. These are funds that Missourians have already paid through federal taxes. These funds would save our state $39 million in the first year of expansion, which then could be used for other priorities that have been hard-hit by COVID-19. As unemployment skyrockets and we are experiencing an economic recession, these are not benefits we can afford to pass up.
Today, parents in a family of four must earn less than $5,550 per year to qualify for health insurance through Missouri’s Medicaid program, MO HealthNet. A single adult cannot qualify. Currently, there are 230,000 working Missourians who make too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford health insurance and aren’t offered insurance through their jobs.
But if we only think about 230,000 Missourians as a data point, we’re missing the point. These are our neighbors, friends, and family. For 13 years, I worked as a caseworker in St. Louis at the Department of Social Services. When hearing how many people can be helped by expanding Medicaid, one of the first people that comes to mind is a single mother I met. She was working two jobs to support her family. Anytime she would get close to working full-time at one job, they would cut her hours, keeping her as a part-time employee and therefore not eligible for health insurance. She had an underlying health condition that caused her to miss work a few days a month. With the preventive care and regular treatment that insurance would have afforded her, she may have not had to miss those days at work, and she could have helped her family get ahead.
Our nation is facing crises on multiple fronts. The COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented. Few people have experienced anything like it. Today, we also see a greater light being shone on systemic racism. Too many people are all too familiar with experiencing racism and suffering the consequences. While we grapple with both, we have failed to recognize how these issues are deeply intertwined.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), non-Hispanic Black Americans are approximately five times more likely than non-Hispanic white Americans to be hospitalized due to COVID-19. Hispanic or Latino Americans are approximately four times more likely. In our state alone, Black residents make up 12% of the population, but account for 36% of the deaths from COVID-19. This health crisis has been compounded by an economic crisis where communities of color have also been disproportionally affected.
The disparities in the COVID-19 pandemic are a case study in the racial inequities in our public health system. Access to health care is a first step in reducing some of these health and economic barriers.
Our state, and country, have a long road ahead to achieving social, racial, and economic justice. Expanding the Medicaid program is a first step to more equitable access to health care, a strong economy, and a safe community. No matter how you look at it, expanding Medicaid just makes sense.
Natashia Pickens is the Labor Co-Chair of Missouri Jobs with Justice and President of CWA Local 6355
