Advocates protest for Medicaid expansion

FILE: More than 100 people marched through the Capitol in 2016 in support of expanding Medicaid during a rally organized by the Missouri Medicaid Coalition.
FILE: More than 100 people marched through the Capitol in 2016 in support of expanding Medicaid during a rally organized by the Missouri Medicaid Coalition.

The Rev. John Bennett, of Jefferson City, led a prayer inside the Capitol Rotunda on Thursday, stating the need for Medicaid expansion in Missouri.

More than 100 people - gathered for a rally organized by the Missouri Medicaid Coalition - joined him in prayer with clenched and raised hands, open and closed eyes, all with bowed heads.

He recited a prayer he said in the Senate gallery two years ago when he and 22 other protesters, known as the Medicaid 23, were arrested for advocating for the same cause.

Because of the chamber acoustics, Bennett doubted anyone heard his words and decided to share them again. Without Medicaid expansion, he said Missouri will maintain its health care coverage gap and, people who make too much money for Medicaid but can't afford a federal marketplace plan will continue to die.

It's a life and death matter, he said.

"We mourn for those who lost their lives," Bennett said in his prayer. "We lament in the anticipation of our hundreds of brothers and sisters, children and grandchildren if Medicaid expansion - an expression of your healing mercy - is denied by our legislature. As the prophets of Israel cried out over the ruins of their people and Jesus cried out to bring the good news, liberation and healing mercy to the poor, we cried out, "Oh holy God, in protest of the injustice being insisted on the most vulnerable of your children.'"

Missouri is one of 19 states without Medicaid expansion. The state's income eligibility limits for adults with dependants are among the lowest in the nation at 19 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). The greater the percentage, an income level measurement used to qualify individuals for welfare programs, the more people can receive Medicaid benefits.

Nationally, the median percentage is 138 percent, with 26 states expanding Medicaid to that number. The Medicaid eligibility income limit for a family of two is about $3,026 annually, or $252 per month. The limit is $3,817 ($318 per month) annually for a three-person family, and a family of four cannot have a household income of more than $4,607 ($383 per month) annually.

Childless adults cannot receive Medicaid, and children are covered at up to 300 percent the FPL.

Calling the issue of Medicaid expansion a "moral imperative," Bennett referenced the words etched in the Senate chamber: "Nothing is politically right that is morally wrong." He and his fellow protesters chanted along the third-floor outside the House and Senate chambers Thursday morning.

In Missouri, 300,000 people fall into the coverage gap. Nationally, that figure is 2.9 million.

Iva Eggert, an Affordable Care Act marketplace coordinator, said it is difficult for her to tell applicants they aren't eligible for health care, like one single mom of two children who earned $11,600 annually and sought assistance.

"To our hard working Missourians, our Legislature has said, "You make too much money to qualify for Medicaid but not enough for discounts on the federal marketplace,'" she said. "This body is telling a mother of two making $300 per month that, "No, you are too rich to afford basic health care coverage.' If we continue to accept this, people will lose their lives because they've gone uninsured but moreover because this body - again, our elected officials - refuse to do the right thing and simply have this in their priorities."

Gov. Jay Nixon called for Medicaid expansion during his final State of the State address in January, but Republicans have only indicated cuts to MO Healthnet (the state's Medicaid program) to decrease spending.

This session, Medicaid expansion bills have not passed in either chamber.