Missouri Hospital Association website

Missouri hospitals sue to block changes in Medicaid payments

Views: 0(Missouri Independent) – After obtaining some relief from lawmakers for revenue cuts likely from a change in the way Medicaid pays for outpatient services, Missouri hospitals are asking the courts for relief from a coming change in payments for inpatient care. The Missouri Hospital Association on Friday filed a lawsuit in Cole County alleging the Department […]

Missouri Governor Mike Parson

Parson set to call special session to extend Federal Reimbursement Allowance with ban on certain contraceptives

Views: 0(Missouri Independent) – Missouri lawmakers appear to be headed into a special session next week to renew medical provider taxes vital to sustaining the state’s Medicaid program. Gov. Mike Parson met Tuesday with the state Senate Republican caucus. The group discussed language that would bar the state from paying for some contraceptive medications and devices and […]

Food Stamp or SNAP Graphic

Feds pony up to get more SNAP-eligible families enrolled

Views: 0The U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering a 50/50 match on Nebraska dollars invested in outreach to get more eligible families enrolled in SNAP, the program formerly known as food stamps. Ellen Vollinger, legal director at the Food Research and Action Center, said the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program helps struggling families put food on […]

United States Capitol Building by Florian Pintar on Unsplash

Lawmaker announces that he will reintroduce Taiwan Defense Act

Views: 0U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced he will reintroduce the Taiwan Defense Act (TDA), following new signs of China’s increasing belligerence in the Asia-Pacific and imperial ambitions worldwide. Sen. Hawley’s bill ensures the United States is able to defeat any attempted Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Originally introduced in June 2020, TDA is co-sponsored by Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas), […]

Human Trafficking Graphic

Lawmakers introduce Bill to improve housing services for survivors of human trafficking

Views: 0U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and Dick Durbin (Ill.), as well as U.S. Representatives Joyce Beatty (Ohio) and Ann Wagner (Mo.), introduced legislation that would commission a study reviewing current homelessness and housing services for survivors of trafficking. “We […]

Handgun on Constitution right to carry 2nd Amendment or Second Amendment

Audio: Missouri’s Governor signs Second Amendment Preservation Act into law; House Democratic Leader Crystal Quade slams SAPA

Views: 0Legislation that declares it’s the duty of the courts and law enforcement agencies to protect the rights of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms has been signed into law by Missouri’s governor. GOP Governor Mike Parson signed the Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA) Saturday in Lee’s Summit, where he was joined by the […]

Medicaid Expansion in Missouri

Attorney General says Missouri lawmakers can refuse to fund Medicaid expansion

Views: 0(Missouri Independent) – Missouri lawmakers were not obligated to fund Medicaid expansion, and the courts cannot force the state to pay the medical bills of people who would be eligible under an initiative that amended the state constitution, the state attorney general’s office argued in documents filed Monday in Cole County Circuit Court. The filing from […]

Bridge Work

Lawmakers introduce legislation to maintain rural bridges

Views: 0U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Bob Casey (Pa.) announced that they have introduced the Support for Community Bridges Act. The bipartisan bill would allocate more dedicated funds for bridge repair to states with more off-system bridges in poor condition. Off-system bridges are not on the federal highway system and are often left out […]

Kevin Strickland Photo via Youtube Screen Capture

Audio: Missouri House Corrections Chair calls on Governor to release Kevin Strickland from prison

Views: 0A key Missouri lawmaker who chairs the House Corrections Committee is calling on Governor Parson to grant an immediate release to an inmate that prosecutors say was wrongly convicted of murder 40 years ago. Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth has our report:     GOP State Representative Andrew McDaniel of southeast Missouri’s Deering tweeted that Thursday […]

Medicaid Expansion

Audio: Missouri’s Governor says there was no path forward for Medicaid expansion, without legislative funding

Views: 0Missouri’s governor says there was no path forward for Medicaid expansion without legislative funding and that the courts will decide the issue. Governor Mike Parson says he never supported Medicaid expansion because he didn’t think the state could afford it. The governor says he called for its implementation because voters approved it in August: […]

Marijuana leaf news graphic (Image from Adopbe Stock Images)

Missouri needs free market marijuana reforms now

Views: 0(Missouri Independent) – In 2018, 66% of Missouri voters voted to legalize medical marijuana, picking a Constitutional amendment proposal floated by a group called New Approach Missouri. Two and a half years later, access to medical marijuana remains limited, due to both a cap on the number of licenses and the extremely high regulatory […]