BROUGHT TO YOU BY: HEALTHCAREFORMISSOURI.ORG

LET US DECIDE
This ballot measure lets Missouri voters decide what’s best.
IMPACT
Delivers care to Missourians who can’t afford to see a doctor and have jobs that don’t provide insurance. Keeps rural hospitals open.
BRINGS OUR MONEY HOME
Brings more than a billion of our tax dollars home from Washington, D.C., every year — money that’s going to 36 other states instead.
HELPS OUR ECONOMY
Creates thousands of new jobs, keeps rural hospitals open, and boosts our economy.

HOW A MEDICAID EXPANSION BALLOT MEASURE BENEFITS MISSOURI

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Medicaid expansion ensures that no one will have to choose between paying for lifesaving care and putting food on the table or making a mortgage payment to keep their home. It ensures that hard-working Missourians who earn less than $18,000 a year will have access to heart medicine, cancer treatments, and other medical care.
  • Medicaid expansion brings more than a billion of our tax dollars back from Washington every year. That’s money 36 other states get but Missouri has lost out on for years. Bringing our tax dollars home will keep rural hospitals open, create thousands of jobs, and ensure all Missourians have access to health care no matter where they live.
  • Missourians have waited nearly a decade to solve this problem and bring more than a billion of our tax dollars home from Washington, and we can’t afford to wait any longer. This ballot measure lets Missouri voters decide what’s best, and it ensures politicians respect the will of the people.
  • Medicaid expansion will make our families healthier and our economy stronger. It will provide health care to more than 200,000 hard-working Missourians— including 50,000 parents and 18,000 near retirees — and it will bring our money home from Washington to boost our local economy, keep rural hospitals open, and create thousands of new jobs.

DELIVERS HEALTH CARE TO MISSOURIANS WHO HAVE JOBS WITHOUT INSURANCE AND CAN’T AFFORD TO SEE A DOCTOR

Too many Missouri families are slipping through the cracks in our health care system — forced to choose between paying for lifesaving care and putting food on the table or making a mortgage payment to keep their home. These families earn too much to qualify for Medicaid and not enough to be able to afford coverage on the health insurance exchange.

Medicaid expansion closes that coverage gap and ensures that hard-working Missourians will have access to affordable health care. It helps people nearing retirement who have lost their insurance, people with chronic medical conditions, and Missourians who earn less than $18,000 a year. Medicaid expansion would provide health care to more than 200,000 Missourians.
BRINGS OUR TAX DOLLARS HOME FROM WASHINGTON, D.C., TO CREATE THOUSANDS OF JOBS, KEEP RURAL HOSPITALS OPEN, AND BOOSTS OUR ECONOMY

Helping our neighbors access health care is not only the right thing to do — it’s also the financially responsible thing, too. Medicaid expansion would bring more than a billion of our tax dollars home from Washington, D.C., every year. That’s money that 36 other states get right now but Missouri has lost out on for years.

By bringing our tax dollars home, we’ll provide health care to more than 200,000 people, keep rural hospitals open, and create thousands of new jobs. And the new money spent in our state will boost our economy too — something that will help our businesses and all Missourians.
LETS MISSOURI VOTERS DECIDE

This ballot measure lets Missourians decide what’s best. We’ve waited nearly a decade for a health care solution and we’ve watched while 36 other states have taken action to bring their tax dollars back from Washington and help people get medical care. Now, it’s our turn to decide.

Missourians need to collect more than 172,000 signatures from registered voters to put Medicaid expansion on the ballot in 2020.

KEEPS RURAL HOSPITALS OPEN

For years, our state has left billions of our tax dollars in Washington, ignoring the health care needs of rural communities. Since 2014 alone, nine rural hospitals in Missouri have shuttered their doors and closed for good, forcing people to drive longer distances to reach a hospital when suffering from a heart attack or another medical emergency. By bringing our money home, we can deliver health care to Missourians who have lower-paying jobs that don’t come with insurance, and we can protect rural health care for everyone in our state.
SAVES US MONEY

Medicaid expansion will save as much as $932 million by 2024 because we’re already paying for it. We’re just not getting the benefits right now — benefits that include bringing more than a billion of our tax dollars home from Washington every year, creating thousands of jobs, and boosting our economy.

Currently, we pay for health care in the most expensive way possible. When Missouri families who can’t afford health insurance end up in the emergency room to treat a life-threatening condition, we often end up footing the bill through state and local taxes and higher insurance premiums. By expanding Medicaid, we can fix that and eliminate duplicative programs too. We can get Missourians access to care, and save money at the same time.

HOW EXACTLY DOES MEDICAID EXPANSION SAVE US MONEY?

Right now, taxpayers pick up the bill for the uninsured — whether that’s through uncompensated care costs that are passed along to all of us or through state programs at agencies like the Department of Mental Health and the Department of Corrections. Missouri is also already paying to provide health coverage to individuals with disabilities, those with breast or cervical cancer, and others. Many of the Missourians covered by these programs will be eligible for Medicaid expansion and the increased federal funds that come with it, saving the state hundreds of millions of dollars. In fact, a recent report from researchers at Washington University found that Medicaid expansion would save the state $932 million by 2024.

CORRECTING MYTHS & MISINFORMATION ABOUT MISSOURI MEDICAID EXPANSION

MYTH: POLITICIANS HAVE ANOTHER WAY TO DELIVER HEALTH CARE TO MORE THAN 200,000 MISSOURIANS.

FACT  Missouri politicians have had nearly a decade to deliver health care to hardworking families and bring billions of our tax dollars home from Washington, D.C., and they haven’t taken action. That’s why Missourians are working to put Medicaid expansion on the ballot and ensure that politicians respect the will of the people.

Missourians want real health care solutions that can be implemented right away. That’s the focus of our campaign.

MYTH: IT EXPANDS OBAMACARE IN MISSOURI.

FACT   This ballot measure gives voters the chance to expand Medicaid, which has been around for decades. It would deliver health care to more than 200,000 Missourians and bring home more than a billion of our tax dollars every year to keep rural hospitals open, create thousands of jobs and boost our economy. This is a nonpartisan policy that has already been adopted in 36 states, including 16 states with Republican governors. We’re focused on putting Missouri families first, and doing what’s right for our community.

MYTH: IT WILL BUST THE BUDGET.

FACT   A recent study conducted by researchers at Washington University found that Medicaid expansion will save Missouri $932 million by 2024. It’s a cost-effective solution because we’re already paying for it. We’re just not getting the benefits right now — benefits that include bringing more than a billion of our tax dollars home from Washington every year, keeping rural hospitals open, and creating thousands of jobs.

There’s no doubt that we are better off financially with Medicaid expansion. That’s why we’ve seen 36 states adopt it, and every single one of them has chosen to keep the program in place. In Michigan, for example, the billions of dollars returned to the state from Washington have generated nearly $800 million in new state and local revenues and saved the state more than $1 billion on mental health programs. And in Arkansas, expansion has produced net savings for the state of more than $400 million during the last three fiscal years alone.

MYTH: IT IS TOO RISKY BECAUSE OF A PENDING COURT CASE AGAINST OBAMACARE.

FACT   This ballot measure would expand Medicaid, which has been around for decades.

MYTH: IT IS DRIVEN BY OUT-OF-STATE INTERESTS.

FACT   Medicaid expansion is supported by Missouri voters and patients, doctors and nurses, hospitals, and businesses. While we’re grateful to have the support of national organizations that help voters get a direct say in their democracy, this campaign is being run by Missourians.