General Assembly Passes Health Provisions

This week, the Missouri General Assembly passed an omnibus health care bill that contains several provisions, many of which the MCC supported. SB 514, sponsored by Sen. David Sater (R-Cassville), dealt with providing Medicaid coverage for foster children coming in from outside Missouri. In the House, two amendments were added to the bill, one of which was funding for the MO RX Plan. The MO RX Plan helps low-income seniors with the cost of medications by paying up to 50% of the co-payments, deductibles and coverage gap amounts. Both Medicare and Medicaid recipients were eligible for benefits, but in 2017, benefits for Medicare patients expired. This amendment added Medicare patients back into the plan.

The other item covered in the amendment related to inmates who were on MO HealthNet prior to being incarcerated. Currently, inmates are terminated from the plan when they go to jail; the amendment would allow for benefits to be suspended rather than terminated. This would allow inmates to receive health care coverage right away when they are released, rather than waiting the 3-4 months to get reinstated.

The bill now goes to the governor for his signature.