Health-care advocates called on Missouri lawmakers to allocate funds for Medicaid expansion right away after the state Supreme Court ruled they must extend coverage to the 275,000 people who fall into what’s known as the Medicaid gap. That means they have incomes above their state’s eligibility for Medicaid but cannot afford marketplace or employer-based insurance. […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri must expand Medicaid to 275,000 eligible people who were expecting coverage under a constitutional amendment that took effect July 1, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Thursday. In a unanimous opinion, the court overturned a trial court ruling that the amendment, passed in August 2020 was unconstitutional because it may increase the state’s cost for […]
Judge Paul C. Wilson assumed the role of chief justice beginning July 1. His term as chief justice will run through June 30, 2023. He succeeds Judge George W. Draper III, who remains on the Court. A Jefferson City native, Wilson earned his undergraduate degree from Drury College in Springfield and his law degree, cum […]
Redistricting reformers urged the people charged with drawing new voting-district maps in Missouri to commit to putting the voters over partisan interests. Governor Mike Parson has appointed a bipartisan group of commissioners to draw state legislative maps. The Legislature draws congressional maps. Caroline Fan, founder and president of the Missouri Asian American Youth Foundation said in […]
Missouri’s Medicaid expansion lawsuit case is now in the hands of the seven-member state Supreme Court. The court heard about 35 minutes of oral arguments Tuesday morning in Jefferson City. This case will likely come down to the definition of “appropriation.” Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem ruled in June that Missouri’s August Medicaid expansion […]
(Missouri Independent) – After an eight-year fight over Medicaid expansion, the arguments are over. The question of whether 275,000 people will receive state-paid health care coverage is in the hands of the Missouri Supreme Court. Oral arguments took place Tuesday in an expedited appeal. The seven judges must decide whether Medicaid eligibility will expand, as directed by the […]
The Missouri Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday morning, July 13, 2021, in Jefferson City in one of the biggest cases the court has faced in recent memory: Missouri’s Medicaid expansion lawsuit case. Oral arguments will begin Tuesday at 11 a.m. Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem ruled in late June that […]
(Missouri Independent) – A crowded Republican primary is emerging in Missouri’s 4th Congressional District, a solidly GOP seat that is also the only one of the state’s eight districts certain to have a new lawmaker at the end of 2022. State Rep. Sara Walsh, R-Ashland, on Wednesday became the latest candidate to enter the race […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency began accepting nominations for county committee members on June 15. Elections will occur in certain Local Administrative Areas for these members who make important decisions about how federal farm programs are administered locally. All nomination forms for the 2021 election must be postmarked or received in the […]
(Missouri Independent) – Bob F. Griffin, who served as speaker of the Missouri House for 15 years until he was forced to resign in the face of a federal criminal investigation, died Wednesday in Columbia. He was 85. Griffin was the longest-serving speaker in the state’s history. During his tenure as speaker from 1981 to 1996, the […]
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway announced her office has begun an audit of the city of Purcell, located in Jasper County. City residents requested the audit through the petition process. “The petition audit process allows citizens to be engaged and ensure accountability with their local government,” Auditor Galloway said. “I look forward to conducting this […]
Missouri is ranked 30th among states for overall child wellbeing in a new report, and advocates for kids and families say the pandemic has underscored the need for strong supports. The Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids Count Data Book shows 17% of Missouri children lived in poverty in 2019, though that number was down from 2010, and […]
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway has released a report covering the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. The report is part of a comprehensive review of the Clay County government initiated by citizens through the petition audit process. “The taxpayers that initiated this audit of Clay County made it clear they wanted a thorough, independent review of […]
The push to expand Medicaid eligibility in Missouri was dealt another blow on Wednesday, as a Cole County judge ruled the voter-approved initiative was unconstitutional because it didn’t include a way to pay for 275,000 new enrollees. Plaintiffs, which include three people who would have been eligible for Medicaid on July 1 if the expansion […]
The State Auditor’s Office is notifying more than 2,800 local taxing authorities in Missouri that they no longer have the option to calculate local tax rates using a subsection of state law a recent court ruling found to be unconstitutional. The taxing authorities include local government entities such as counties, municipalities, and school and fire […]
A judge in mid-Missouri’s Cole County expects to issue his decision in Missouri’s Medicaid expansion lawsuit by tomorrow (Wednesday). Brian Hauswirth covered Monday’s hearing in Jefferson City: Three Missouri women are suing the state over the issue of Medicaid expansion. They note 53 percent of Missouri voters approved Amendment Two in August. Their […]
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway today announced her office has begun an audit of the city of Town and Country, located in St. Louis County. Residents of Town and Country requested the audit through the petition process. “My office will conduct an independent review of the financial practices of Town and Country government to ensure […]
(Missouri Independent) – For years after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, activists and community leaders have pushed to “re-envision public safety.” Inspired in part by the Ferguson Commission, which recommended that cities focus more resources on the root causes of crime, organizers across the state echoed these calls. But they largely fell on deaf ears. […]
(Missouri Independent) – Even the stuffy, florid name of the procedure, “filibuster” sounds like something conceived around a table of wig-wearing Founding Fathers. While the name has its roots in the 18th Century (with pirates nonetheless), the concept and practice in the United States Senate is much younger, not being implemented in a modern form until […]
Missouri’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: […]
