About 1.3 million Missourians are currently enrolled in Medicaid, and nonprofits around the state have warned that proposed federal cuts would be devastating.
In Missouri, children are the largest group served by Medicaid, with 61% enrolled. States could face more than $800 billion in Medicaid cuts and more than $200 billion in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP or food stamps.
McClain Bryant Macklin, vice president of policy and impact for the Kansas City nonprofit Health Forward Foundation, emphasized how important Medicaid is to the organization.
"From a policy perspective as well as where we tend to lend our funding support, is squarely in that direction, and Medicaid access has been our primary policy issue, really since our inception," Bryant Macklin explained. "It's just our number one priority."
Supporters of the cuts argued Medicaid is inefficient because of waste and fraud, and restructuring or reducing funding could improve sustainability.
Bryant Macklin noted the Health Forward Foundation played a key role in advocating for Medicaid expansion in Missouri, contributing to policy changes that extended coverage to thousands of low-income residents. She stressed as a Medicaid expansion state, Missouri will need to find funding from other critical sources, which could result in further challenges.
"State legislators are going to be forced to -- and administrators forced to -- find those dollars elsewhere," Bryant Macklin pointed out. "That elsewhere will be from other key social services that folks are relying upon, and that the state has grown accustomed to receiving that federal support."
Those in favor of the cuts said they would give states greater control over Medicaid through block grants, which are fixed amounts of federal funding states can use with more flexibility, to tailor programs to local needs and priorities.
The Missouri Public News Service is a partner with KRCU Public Radio.
