Missouri Gov. makes last-ditch Medicaid expansion effort

Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, proposed using the federal money to pay a portion of the private insurance costs for businesses with fewer than 150 employees, but the idea was quickly shot down by Republican legislators officials. Meanwhile, Kansas health providers said their state's decision not to expand the program is denying care to thousands and costing hospitals millions.

The Associated Press:  Nixon Adds New Wrinkle To  Medicaid Expansion Plan
The Democratic governor on Monday outlined an initiative dubbed "Missouri Health Works" that would use federal money to pay a portion of the private health insurance costs for businesses with fewer than 150 employees. The state aid would be available for people earning less than 138 percent of the poverty level, which is about $27,000 a year for a family of three. But the plan faced immediate criticism in the Republican-led Legislature, which has repeatedly rejected plans to expand Medicaid eligibility under the terms of President Barack Obama's health care law (Lieb, 4/28).

Kansas Health Institute:  Decision To Pass On Medicaid Expansion Costing State, Health Leaders Say
The decision by Gov. Sam Brownback and Republican legislative leaders not to expand Medicaid is denying care to thousands and costing Kansas hospitals millions of dollars, participants in a panel discussion said on Monday. Randy Peterson, president and chief executive of Stormont-Vail HealthCare in Topeka, said that hospitals agreed to reductions in reimbursement rates for Medicare and other federal programs in exchange for increasing the number of Americans with private or Medicaid coverage. Negotiators assumed the increase in coverage would more than offset the reductions (McLean, 4/28).