Missouri: laboratory of democracy
Originally tweeted by Lindsey Simmons (@LynzforCongress) on April 13, 2022:
If states are the laboratories of democracy, then the experiment in Missouri has failed.
Pure democracy–one person one vote + majority rules–is under attack. And the will of the people is constantly undermined by rising autocrats.
Today it’s Medicaid Expansion.
Missouri voters had the opportunity to make their voices heard on Medicaid Expansion on August 4, 2020.
The decision to expand Medicaid was left to voters through our initiative petition process. And it was expected to pass.
Medicaid Expansion had many supporters.
A Wash U study found that Missouri would save $39M in its first year due to (i) the federal government paying for 90% of it and (ii) cost savings in behavioral services/criminal justice system.
They predicted $1.0B in savings by 2026.
And a separate study found that because of its implementation, Missouri would see an increase in the size of the state economy of $2.5 billion in economic output and $1.6 billion in gross domestic product, and rise in state personal income of $1.1 billion
This was good news in rural areas because Missouri had repeated rural hospital closures and needed Medicaid Expansion to help stay afloat.
Knowing it was about to pass, about two weeks before election day Republian Autocrats in Missouri started pushing the lie that voters had to choose between expanding Medicaid and funding their kids’ schools.
Here is a Facebook post from a Missouri State Senator–frightening voters into believing that $15M would have to be cut from their kids’ school.
This was an outright lie.
But it came from a sitting State Senator.
But despite the best efforts of the rising autocrats in Missouri, Medicaid Expansion passed by 53% and healthcare became available to over 275,000 hard-working Missourians and their families.
On top of that, we were in a better place to fund rural hospitals wrecked by COVID.
Section 36(c) of the Missouri Constitution mandated that by July 1, 2021 all who qualified for the expansion were to receive assistance.
But in March 2021, Republicans voted against funding the program–and instead chose to ignore the will of Missouri voters.
In refusing to fund Medicaid Expansion, the rising autocrats were simultaneously rejecting Governor Parson’s budget which *did* fund it.
This won’t be surprising to folks because the autocrats love to reject their own Republican Governor’s calls for how to fund the state.
By May 2021, Governor Parson declined to extend Medicaid because the autocrats refused to fund it.
And yup. If you guessed that we ended up in court a year after passing expansion in the first place, you’d be right.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/13/politics/missouri-medicaid-expansion/index.html
In fact, Medicaid Expansion made it all the way to the Missouri Supreme Court last summer–where the court *unanimously* found that Medicaid Expansion does not violate the MO Constitution.
And thus, MO had to make Medicaid expansion happen.
October 1, 2021 is the first date that Missouri began accepting applications under Medicaid Expansion–a full three months after the date voters approved.
The expectation was that 275,000 people would now have healthcare.
But by December 2021 Missouri had only registered 20,000–only 7% of those eligible.
Why?
Because the rising autocrats who control our state government did the bare minimum to inform working people that they could now enroll.
On top of many Missourians not knowing they qualify, the state can’t efficiently approve the applications that it does receive.
Federal law says applications must be processed in 45 days.
But as of January, it was taking Missouri an average of 70 days.
https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article257658623.html
And now? Going on two years since voters expressed their desire to expand Medicaid, save rural hospitals, and provide working families with healthcare?
Welp.
The rising autocrats want to put it back on the ballot to repeal Medicaid Expansion.
HJR 117 passed the Missouri House of Representatives and today was voted out of Senate Committee. Next, it will be voted on by the full Senate.
This would change the current program by allowing the Missouri Legislature to decide, year-to-year, whether to and how to fund Medicaid. That means uncertainty about healthcare coverage not only for folks covered by expansion–but everyone.
Moreover, the rising autocrats only want to reimburse providers *IF* an appropriation for that service or type of provider is specifically made for every single fiscal year. Meaning they won’t cover folks from out of state.
And if they aren’t getting reimbursed by the government as Medicaid is set up to do–that cost is going to be passed onto you. Or, as has happened in many impoverished areas of the state, those healthcare providers will close, althogether. Limiting healthcare access for everyone.
And if you are between the ages of 19 and 65 you must spend 80 hours a month meeting “work and community engagement” requirements.
This isn’t a good faith effort meant to help people find work–but a disgusting obstacle meant to keep people from affording healthcare.
Two years later.
53% of Missourians told the autocrats what they wanted–but it was defunded to the point it couldn’t function and now they seek to amend the constitution to remove it.
This is what it looks like to have democracy vanish before your eyes.
So what can you do?
Call your State Senator. Tell them to vote against HJR 117. Even if you think they’re going to vote no–call them anyway. They need to hear that their constituent supports their actions.
A list of every State Senator and their phone number is below.
As a reminder–the autocrats are working to change this ballot initiative process. If they have their way, this will be the last year that a 50% vote amends the Constitution.
It could go up to 67%. And if that happens amending the constitution again will be very difficult.
As we all know, the rising autocrats lie and intentionally mislead their voters when it comes to these ballot initiatives.
For a full explanation, see the below thread.
They’re trying it all out there in laboratories of democracy. And it’s leading to right wing tyranny.