Americans for Prosperity Talks Medicaid Expansion in West Plains

Missourians have a choice to make on August 4. Should they vote “yes” or “no” on Amendment 2 to approve or reject Medicaid expansion in Missouri? Americans for Prosperity, a grassroots organization dedicated to solving our state’s and country’s biggest problems, suggested “no,” on the evening of June 30 during a meeting in West Plains at the outdoor pavilion of East Towne Village on Bill Virdon Blvd. 
Guest speakers included State Representative Robert Ross (R-142); Mike Armstrong, director of The Missouri chapter of Americans for Prosperity; Mike Sylvester, representative for Americans for Prosperity; and Gregg Pfister, spokesman for the Opportunity Solutions Project. Ice cream with all the fixings was served to the fifteen attendees at this outdoor event. Representative Ross greeted the crowd and jumped right into the topic at hand.
Medicaid is a government program that provides medical insurance to groups of low-income people and to individuals with disabilities. The Medicaid expansion initiative that will be on the ballot in Missouri on August 4 would expand Medicaid eligibility in Missouri to adults who are 19 years old or older, and younger than 65, whose income is 130% of the federal poverty level or below, which would effectively expand Medicaid to those with incomes at or below 138% of the federal poverty level under the Affordable Care Act. This expansion for able-bodied working age adults would come with a yearly price tag of $349 million according to the numbers presented at the meeting.
Representative Ross’s concerns centered on the tax burden to Missouri citizens. For approximately the first 5 years of the program, the federal government would foot the bill to add the expanded coverage, he said. However, since the Missouri constitution requires its government to maintain a balanced budget, in year five of the program and beyond, Missourians would be responsible to cover the $349 million price tag themselves. 
Ross proposed that a “yes” vote on Amendment 2 would be the wrong choice for Missouri because to finance this multi-million dollar program beyond the initial five years would mean eliminating funding in other critical areas such as public education, the Missouri State University system, workplace preparation programs, Department of Corrections,  Department of Transportation, economic development and public safety. Voting in the August 4 election means that the voters decide where their tax dollars are spent, Ross said. 
Armstrong, Sylvester, and Pfister described Medicaid problems associated with fraud, waste, and abuse. They suggested innovative solutions that would address gaps in health care without burdening the state. Suggested answers included weeding out waste, fraud, and abuse currently in the Medicaid program to free up waiting lists for vulnerable patients, reforming scope of practice laws to let nurse practitioners take care of patients at lower prices, and expanding telehealth services, which the presenters said cut costs dramatically for patients. The speakers took questions from the audience, and the evening concluded.