Northeast News
February 18, 2015

Dear Editor:

Missouri has an opportunity to expand Medicaid to provide health insurance to single parents and childless adults who earn up to 138% of the federal poverty level, or about $25,000 for a family of three. Currently, a single mother of two can’t qualify for basic health care through Medicaid if she makes anything more than $3,504 per year – just 18% of the poverty line. That’s just wrong.

What’s more, families with incomes between 18% and 100% of the poverty line do not qualify for subsidies on the marketplace exchanges – leaving low-income families with virtually no options for affordable health care coverage. The current situation leaves thousands of Missourians in a “coverage gap” – where they make too much money to qualify for Medicaid (even in poverty) and not enough to quality for tax credits on the insurance marketplace exchanges. We can fix this by taking advantage of Medicaid expansion as part of the Affordable Care Act. Taking advantage of this expansion is the right thing to do and the smart thing to do for Missouri. Missourians are suffering – 877,000 are uninsured, and 700 will die this year if Medicaid isn’t expanded. Our state lawmakers can no longer neglect this opportunity to provide health care to Missourians in need.

Thank you,

K. June

Liberty, Mo., resident