Inaction has consequences: Failure to expand Medicaid costs Missouri
Jefferson City, we have a problem. Some Missouri legislators are telling their constituents that Missouri “can’t afford to expand Medicaid." They're wrong.
In fact, failure to expand Medicaid has cost Missouri jobs, hospitals and lives.
Jennifer Amieva, who grew up in Osceola, knows a janitor who losts his job when Sac Osage Hospital closed: "Residents who need to access health care need need to travel to Clinton or elsewhere. If it's a dire emergency, the person might need to be life-flighted. The hospital closing removed a valuable community resource and also the main job source in the community.”
Reverend Emmett Baker from St Louis who heads a Baptist church in the state, said his daughter recently died of a blood clot that would have been evident at a regular check-up if she had been able to afford to go to a doctor. But she didn’t qualify for Medicaid, and couldn’t pay for private insurance.
The consequences of inaction are all too real and have lasting consequences for our children and communities. For a full timeline and a way to take action, visit the website Inaction Has Consequences.
It’s time for our legislators to get a grasp on reality and act to expand Medicaid-- a decision that will save lives and save the state money.
