Tagged: Medicaid

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon pitched a nearly $26 billion budget to the state of Missouri during Monday’s State of the State Address.  It includes spending increases for K-12 schools, higher education, and the proposed Medicaid expansion he’s been calling for since late November. 

Armed with more than 100 staff members and 1,000 volunteers, the bustling Kansas City Free Health Clinic in midtown is one of the largest free health clinics in the country, treating upward of 15,000 patients a year. “KC Free,” as it’s commonly called, doesn’t charge fees or bill patients for care. It only sees people who are uninsured.



But this year, all that changes.



Medicaid is the second-largest program that Kansas operates, next only to education. And costs of the health program for the poor and disabled have been growing at a faster pace than most other programs. A desire to control those costs and improve care is why officials in Governor Sam Brownback’s administration have embarked on a massive plan to overhaul the system.

Missouri’s 2013 legislative session is underway. Legislative leaders kicked things off by laying out more details on what they want to pass this year.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon will deliver his 2013 State of the State Address on January 28th.

KanCare is arguably the biggest change in the history of Medicaid in Kansas. The proposal would privatize the entire program.