State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick and members of the Missouri House of Representatives and Senate spoke Monday against the expansion of Medicaid that voters will choose whether to approve on the Aug. 4 ballot.
Lawmakers including Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan; Rep. Cody Smith, R-Carthage; Sen. Dan Hegeman, R-Cosby; Sen. Bob Onder, R-Lake Saint Louis; and Rep. Sara Walsh, R-Ashland, stood with Fitzpatrick outside the door of the Governor's Office in the Capitol - just after Gov. Mike Parson concluded an afternoon briefing and the office's doors had been closed.
Smith and Hegeman are the respective chairmen of their chambers' budget or appropriations committees.
The treasurer and lawmakers' arguments against expansion included it would come at a cost of public education funding, and many of the people who would be covered by expansion are people who can work but choose not to.
Walsh said her greatest concern was of the impact on schools, especially rural ones.
Medicaid expansion is an option given to states under the federal Affordable Care Act, and the federal government pays 90 percent of the costs for people who qualify.
The state's Medicaid program, MO HealthNet, serves approximately 900,000 people, and about 230,000 people would be added through expansion, if approved.
A fiscal note received by the state House Budget Committee this summer said there is a possible range in cost to expand from an annual expenditure of $200 million to a savings of $1 billion.