Medicaid Expansion Threatens Mo. Budget Agreement

Jefferson City, MO – House Republicans are unhappy with the final version of Missouri's state budget. Senate negotiators and House Democrats agreed to include an expansion of Medicaid in one of the budget bills. It would expand health coverage to about 35-thousand working parents in Missouri. But House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley says they may reject the provision.

TILLEY: "There's a couple of options that could happen...one is you could bring it up and move the adoption, and it fail...the other one is the Budget Chair just moves it back to conference, and certainly that's something that's on the table right now."

State law mandates that bills comprising the state budget be passed one week before the end of session. If the bill that includes the Medicaid expansion is rejected, Tilley says the governor would have to call a special session.