The state of Missouri on Friday began processing Medicaid applications for those newly eligible, a major win not only for residents now covered but for activists and politicians who have worked to pass and implement the voter-approved expansion.
“I would say that we’ve seen over the last year and a half what it means to have to have people not have full access to coverage. And we will be better off as a country if people have access to care before they need it.” — Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator of the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services
More than 17,000 Missourians having already applied for Medicaid coverage under the expansion, but applications submitted prior to Friday were presumed to be just sitting there after an Aug. 11 video meant for staff went public and revealed Kim Evans, director of the Family Support Division, saying that while people can start applying staff would not be allowed to finalize any applications until Oct. 1 because of computer system upgrades.
Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator of the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), said the expansion is a game changer in terms of addressing health disparities.
“So, for the Biden-Harris administration, getting health insurance coverage is critical and we view it as a human right and a civil right,” she said. “And I think the pandemic has shown us the price we pay, not just as individuals, but as a country, when people don’t have access to quality care.”
Brooks-LaSure became the first Black woman to head the federal agency when she was sworn in at the end of May. She said she feels privileged to fill the role.
“One of the things that’s been so remarkable about sitting in this chair is how meaningful it is to so many women across the country,” she said. “There’s not a week that goes by where there isn’t someone who really appreciates having someone who looks like me sitting in this chair. And I think that it is incredibly meaningful for this barrier to have been broken, and I feel very humbled to be a part of that.”
Moving forward, Brooks-LaSure said she’s focused on addressing health disparities by creating tangible solutions, not just lip service.
CMS on Monday released information regarding the new incentives for states to expand coverage that were included in the American Rescue Plan. Because of those incentives, Missouri is eligible to receive an estimated $968 million in federal funding for their Medicaid over the next two years.
The American Rescue Plan incentivizes states to expand coverage through Medicaid by offering a 5% increase in their regular federal matching rate for many medical services for two years. This is in addition to the 90% federal matching funds currently available through the Affordable Care Act for medical services for Medicaid expansion enrollees.
With the addition of Missouri, 38 states and the District of Columbia have expanded health coverage through Medicaid.
Missouri residents who qualify can visit mydss.mo.gov to apply for coverage. They can also call 855-373-9994 or download a paper application. If filling out a paper application, residents may mail it to 615 E. 13th St. Kansas City, MO 64106. Or fax it to 573-526-9400.
For additional information and questions, residents can call the Cover Missouri hotline at 1-800-466-3213.
Missouri’s path to Medicaid expansion
Prior to expansion, Missouri had one of the most restrictive Medicaid eligibility levels for parents and childless adults in the nation, according to the Missouri Budget Project. As it stood, the program provided coverage for low-wage parents earning no more than $388 per month for a family of three, the lowest level allowed under federal law and the third-lowest eligibility level in the nation.
In August 2020, 53.25% of Missouri residents who voted were in favor of a constitutional amendment in Missouri to implement Medicaid expansion. The new eligibility was slated to take effect July 1.
But the long road to implementation began in April, when House Republicans resisted the will of the voters by removing $1.9 billion allocated for the program’s July expansion when crafting the 2022 state budget.
The Senate then also voted against funding the program expansion.
Six days after the General Assembly presented Parson with the 2022 budget sans the expansion funding,the governor withdrew the state from its plan to expand Medicaid coverage altogether.
Protests across the state were held following the announcement. Shortly after, proponents took the matter to court.
Meanwhile, Parson warned that if the legislature did not reauthorize the medical provider tax, he could be forced to take a knife to the 2021-22 budget to fund the state’s Medicaid program.
The Medicaid provider tax is collected from hospitals, nursing homes and pharmacies and generates $1.6 billion annually. Missouri is then eligible to receive an additional $3 billion in federal funds.
The legislature did not pass the reauthorization of that tax, as several GOP members wanted to include language in the bill that bans Medicaid coverage of certain birth control methods and blocks government funding of Planned Parenthood. Parson called the special session, and the tax bill was then passed without the amendments regarding birth control and abortion.
Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem struck down the lawsuit filed by advocates seeking to expand Medicaid, but the Missouri Supreme Court in July issued a unanimous ruling reversing that decision.
The case was handed back to Beetem, who in mid-August ruled the Missouri Department of Social Services must allow newly eligible residents that qualify for benefits under voter-approved Medicaid expansion to enroll and cannot impose greater restrictions on them.