Governor Jay Nixon met Tuesday with Republican members of the Missouri Senate, in order to push his plans for expanding Medicaid.
Governor Nixon called the discussions open, respectful and solid. He told reporters that much of the discussion focused on the alternate Medicaid package moving through the Missouri House.
“I did talk to them about that most probably being the opportunity here to get reforms this year, but you’re seeing solid realization at how important it is to get this done, and to get it done this year,” Nixon said.
The House bill would expand Medicaid to an additional 180,000 Missourians while removing 44,000 children from the Medicaid rolls. It would also let private insurers compete to cover Medicaid recipients and offer incentives for maintaining good health.
Senate President Pro-tem Tom Dempsey agrees the discussion went well, but says they remain opposed to expanding Medicaid.
“Right now, I just want to have the governor’s comments, allow those to sink in, and then over the next five weeks we’ll continue to have discussions both in caucus and potentially on the floor of the Senate,” Dempsey said.
In addition, Governor Nixon spoke by phone Tuesday to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius about the reforms being sought by House Republicans. A statement released by the Governor’s office called the conversation “positive and productive,” but provided no indication if the Obama Administration would consider the alternate Medicaid proposal.