Coverage alive, contingent on SB 306

The Missouri House initially rejected House Bill 11, the appropriation for the Department of Social Services. However, upon return to conference an agreement has been reached to link the funding from HB 11 to passage of SB 306 -- a proposal similar to last year's Insure Missouri initiative. Tomorrow is the constitutional deadline for adoption of appropriation bills. Action on the revised HB 11 is likely today to meet the deadline.

Reactions to the defeat include the following.

GOVERNOR NIXON: "By voting today against providing health care to 35,000 Missourians at no extra cost to the state, House Republicans rejected a plan that would have pumped $145 million in new money into our economy at no cost to taxpayers. While this proposal to spur economic growth through health care expansion enjoyed broad bipartisan support in the Missouri Senate, the Missouri House let flawed ideology stand in the way of progress. House Republicans should explain to Missourians immediately why they allowed politics to interfere with our state’s opportunity to make health care more affordable and accessible."

MINORITY LEADER LEVOTA: "The ridiculousness of the House Republican position is exceeded only by its cruelty."

AMY BLOUIN, MO. BUDGET PROJECT: "In the case of this bill, our legislators decided that health care coverage for struggling Missouri moms and dads was not even worth doing for free."