After singing and chanting while walking through the hallways outside the House and Senate chambers, protesters marched Thursday afternoon from the Capitol throughout downtown Jefferson City, urging legislators to expand Medicaid - or, at least, bring the issue up for debate.
"Have the debate!" people chanted as they walked down High Street with signs and T-shirts showing support for expanding Medicaid in accordance with the federal Affordable Care Act.
Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that provides health care for low-income residents. Under the terms of President Barack Obama's health care law, states can receive enhanced federal funding if they raise eligibility for adults earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, or $33,465 for a family of four.
Jen Bersdale, executive director of Missouri Health Care for All, said hundreds came to Jefferson City to remind legislators of the work to be done, urging them to bring Medicaid expansion forward.
"We're halfway through the third legislative session where they could have expanded Medicaid, and we've got 300,000 uninsured people who stand to benefit," Bersdale said. "They won't even have a real policy debate, and they're leaving Missourians to suffer and, unfortunately, to lose their lives."
State Sen. Paul LeVota, D-Independence, submitted a courtesy resolution honoring John "Lefty" Orear of Jefferson City.
"Lefty is a health care advocate who is facing a situation where he has his own health care crisis - he is suffering from cancer," LeVota told colleagues. "He's done a considerable amount as an insurance broker and as a health care advocate."
The House issued a similar resolution.
LeVota noted, if not for the cancer and his treatment, Orear would have joined the protesters, "walking the halls with everyone else that is here talking about another health care crisis that we have."
LeVota said the protesters were "walking our halls out of frustration, because they feel like we're not listening to them. They're walking because they don't even believe that we're ready to have that debate" about Medicaid expansion.
State Rep. Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, told the News Tribune, "I greatly appreciate them exercising their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech, freedom of association and freedom to petition government.
"I thought their demonstration today was an excellent example of all three of those things."
Bersdale said people rallied at the Capitol through the morning hours then, once the Senate adjourned around 1 p.m., broke into in smaller groups and began marching throughout the downtown area.
Bersdale said they hoped to provide a reminder of the work left to be done as the legislators left for spring break.
"We expect this to be their top priority when they return," Bersdale said. "We want to make sure that we're the last thing they see and the last message they hear before they leave."
Bersdale said people are frustrated because the Legislature is not having "a serious policy debate" on the issue, which would be the first step to moving forward with expansion.
"There's really been no serious effort for the parties to come together and find a bill that can pass," Bersdale said. "We're sick of the people who only want to say "we can't expand Medicaid' rather than finding a way to do it."
LeVota said having a debate about Medicaid expansion "is important for our credibility and the good things that we need to do in our state. ... I've been told by colleagues that the debate is welcomed - those who do not want Medicaid expansion are perfectly fine with that" debate.
But, Senate President Pro Tem Tom Dempsey, R-St. Charles, told reporters Thursday's rally didn't "change from any of the previous comments I've made, on how doubtful I think it is that we'll act on Medicaid expansion this year."
Most Republican lawmakers either oppose the expansion idea or worry the program will continue to grow and become unaffordable for Missouri taxpayers.
The Associated Press contributed information used in this story.