Missouri voters approve Medicaid expansion

(Image credit: Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images)

published 5 August 2020

Voters in Missouri on Tuesday approved a ballot measure expanding Medicaid to roughly 230,000 low-income residents.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting, 53 percent voted "yes" on the measure, while 47 percent voted "no." Missouri is the sixth red state to expand Medicaid, and the second to do so amid the coronavirus pandemic, after Oklahoma. The state is now reporting on average more than 1,200 daily new coronavirus cases, nearly three times more than a month ago, Politico reports.

Missouri has until July 1, 2021, to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. The measure amends the state's constitution, so lawmakers cannot add requirements to the program. Gov. Mike Parson (R) opposed the expansion, saying it was too expensive and the state doesn't have enough money to pay for it. The federal government gives states up to 90 percent of funding necessary for Medicaid expansion, an improvement over the 65 percent provided to Missouri now under its current program.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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