Legislative leaders of both parties say that a special session is probably not needed to appropriate additional funds following a court order to begin covering Missourians who are eligible under voter-approved Medicaid expansion.
Lawmakers say special session likely unneeded to fund Missouri Medicaid expansion therolladailynews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from therolladailynews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
“Because the General Assembly did not do so,” Sauer wrote, “defendants lack authority to implement Medicaid expansion and they lack appropriations authority to disburse taxpayer funds for that purpose.”
Sauer also wrote that the availability of “additional federal funds to offset some of the costs of Medicaid expansion … does not make up for the lack of appropriations authority under state law to expend any funds, whether state or federal, for the purpose of implementing Medicaid expansion.”
The case over Medicaid expansion is slated to begin later this month before Cole County Judge Jon Beetem. But whatever happens in that courtroom is almost certain to be appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court.
Special to St. Louis Public Radio
Missouri lawmakers toss paper into the air to commemorate the end of the 2021 legislative session.
The last day of the Missouri General Assembly’s legislative session ended with a thud when the Senate adjourned without approving a must-pass bill that helps fund the state’s Medicaid system.
It was an anticlimatic end to a legislative session that failed to fund voter-approved Medicaid expansion but featured passage of long-sought legislation that could have a big impact on the state’s roads, police, children and opioid abuse issues.
When lawmakers returned to session on Friday morning, the biggest unfinished item was the passage of the Federal Reimbursement Allowance a tax on medical providers like hospitals that helps pay for the state’s Medicaid program. Typically, the so-called FRA passes without much opposition. But some senators wanted to attach items to it that would bar Medicaid from paying for certain contraceptives and prevent