Summertime in Mid-Missouri may have hot some days but it generally is a great season buzzing with activities, community involvement, and a busy time for family and community activities.
Our activities again seem to be affected more by the recent COVID outbreak. Unfortunately, we are all again being affected by deaths of family members and friends from COVID and the change of lifestyle we have to endure due to the spread of COVID.
Despite the recent COVID surge, there are activities and functions successfully being carried out with reasonable adjustments. St. Martin's Parish, with adjustments, carried out its picnic successfully. St. Stanislaus carried out its picnic successfully, with adjustments. St. Margaret's in Osage Bend is having its picnic this Sunday and they are making adjustments to have a successful picnic.
Jefferson City Jaycees were able to have a fair this year with a lot of activities for families, including 4-H, tractor pulls, FFA and concerts. It was great to see so many young 4-H and FFA members and the dedication and pride they showed with their animals. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends and spectators stood by to watch these events and took great pride watching our future leaders show hard work, discipline, character and success. They may not have all gotten blue ribbons, but I assure you none of them came out a loser for their experience.
On the legislative level, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the constitutional amendment expanding MO HealthNet coverage, commonly referred to as Medicaid, was constitutional, and that those that fall into the expansion class were eligible for MO HealthNet benefits. While some are already criticizing the Missouri Supreme Court for this decision, that is without basis. The citizens of Missouri passed this constitutional amendment expanding MO HealthNet to an additional class of people. The court's job is to interpret the Constitution of the State of Missouri, including amendments passed by the people. Its job is not to create law as it sees fit.
The court specifically did not address the issue of whether the Legislature had to appropriate money toward this program expanded by constitutional amendment, because the court found that money had already been appropriated for MO HealthNet beneficiaries. This does not mean that there will not be future challenges to the provisions that require that the expanded MO HealthNet beneficiaries be treated equally to other MO HealthNet beneficiaries. I am not suggesting that this challenge would be successful, but I know this issue is being discussed.
Whether the governor will call a special session to address this or not, I am not sure. However, I believe that there are sufficient funds available for the governor to use to meet the MO HealthNet requirements without the need of a special session. However, there may be issues relating to receiving federal funds and meeting other federal Medicaid requirements that will need to be addressed either in a special session or next session.
I have mixed feelings on MO HealthNet expansion, but the people voted for it. I have had personal experience with the value of having medical coverage. At the age of 20, I spent more than five months in the hospital after a car accident, incurring huge medical bills. Fortunately, my mother worked at a factory that provided good health insurance coverage and I still qualified to stay on her plan because I was a student. I wonder what our lives would have been if we had not had insurance or such charitable institutions like the Easter Seals, which stepped forward and paid for braces so I could learn to walk and stabilize my legs.
MO HealthNet expansion is not going to financially hurt the State of Missouri. I do have concerns about expansion on the federal level, but ultimately the State of Missouri will pay for little of MO HealthNet expansion. Because of the federal program, 90-95 percent of the expansion is paid for by the federal government. The state's revenue will most likely increase by more than the state will be required to pay for this expansion through the increased income tax, sales tax, and other taxes generated due to more people getting medical care that is paid for. This does not mean that Medicaid expansion is good on a federal level, but ultimately it is not going to harm the state. This is not to say that we should or should not have MO HealthNet expansion or that we should look at it as someone else's problem since the federal government is paying for it. I am only saying that you should not fear that MO HealthNet expansion will bankrupt the state, as it will not do so.
Over 40 states have this program, and their constituents are benefiting from these programs. Leading major organizations, constituents, and health care providers are asking me why they should not get the same benefits as the constituents of other states when we all pay the same federal income taxes.
As your representative, I strive every day to keep an open mind to all sides of an issue, even though my personal experiences may influence my opinions. One of my duties as a representative is to try to stay informed and therefore, I do listen to a lot of news, but I listen to at least four different channels and try to drink very little Kool-Aid from any one of them so that I can weigh different opinions and approaches to figure out what is in the best interest of my constituents.
I know if people listen to this much news they can get a doomsday mentality about our country, but I cannot help but to look at our local churches, 4-H, FFA and all of the activities in our community and think that really, at least for our community, things are going quite well all things considered. America has survived through other crises, and we will do so again.
As always, your input is vital to my ability to represent you effectively. Please call and email with your questions, thoughts and concerns.
State Rep. Rudy Veit, R-Jefferson City, represents Missouri's 59th District and shares his perspective on statehouse issues twice a month.