McCaherty: We will not add to Medicaid rolls

In his newsletter, Rep. John McCaherty, R-High Ridge, makes it clear he and the Missouri House do not support efforts to add to the state's Medicaid rolls.

Two House committees that met this week voted to reject a proposed expansion of the state’s Medicaid system. The House Appropriations Committee on Health, Mental Health and Social Services rejected plans to add funding for the expansion in the 2014 budget. At the same time, the House Committee on Government Oversight and Accountability rejected a proposal to put the expansion into state law. The action by both committees sends a clear message that the Missouri House will not support efforts to add more than 300,000 Missourians to the Medicaid rolls.

 While the federal government has tried to entice states to expand Medicaid with the promise of additional federal dollars, my colleagues and I have been reluctant to accept a deal that we feel is ultimately financially unsustainable for our state. We’re also hesitant to pour more money and add more Missourians into a Medicaid system that does not take good care of current participants and is a terrible value for taxpayers. Instead we will pursue legislation that will transform our Medicaid system into one that provides a higher quality of care and represents a better investment of taxpayer dollars.

 On the table for discussion right now is a proposal that would turn Missouri’s program into the most free-market-based Medicaid system in the entire country. In effect, the bill would require private insurers to compete to cover the lower-income Missourians who participate in the program. It’s a plan that could provide a higher quality of care to Medicaid participants while also saving as much as $928 million in taxpayer money over an eight year period. It’s an idea worth discussing and one the Speaker of the House has referred to as a “commonsense conservative way to look at your Medicaid transformation.” The Speaker has also made it clear he considers Medicaid transformation to be a two-year project and something that is not likely to be passed into law this year. I will keep you updated as we learn more on this vitally important issue this year.