Medicaid cuts protested at governor's mansion
More than 150 protestors gathered outside Gov. Matt Blunt's home Friday afternoon.
Published March 8, 2005
A march at the governor's mansion was one part civil disobedience and one part macabre Friday in Jefferson City.
Grass Roots Organizing led a group of more than 150 protesters, many of whom carried cardboard tombstones, in response to proposed Medicaid spending reductions.
Blunt's proposed budget for 2006 would cut more than $600 million from statewide Medicaid funding — lose to $400 million from a federal match program for state spending and $200 million from the budget itself.
"I see a very dark future for those that are slated to be denied this essential medical care," said Lana Wiseman, a member of the GRO Board of Directors who spoke against the proposed cuts. "There are no insurance companies beating down our doors to cover us if these cuts happen."
Representatives from Gov. Matt Blunt's office could not be reached for comment on Monday.
The core of proposed changes would alter Medicaid eligibility standards and reduce funding for other health care programs. The eligibility requirements would change so that only those whose incomes fall below 75 percent of the state poverty level would be eligible. Currently, those at the poverty level and below are eligible.
Amy Blouin, executive director of the Missouri Budget Project, a nonpartisan budget and fiscal policy group, said any program that receives as much federal matching funding as Medicaid shouldn't be cut. She said Medicaid spending is also a catalyst for a healthy state economy.
"Without access to health care, people can't work," Blouin said. "Without funds, doctors cannot provide services."
Citing a Saint Louis University study, Blouin stated that such an action would result in a loss of 10,000 jobs statewide. She also said there are viable options to sustaining current funding levels and she believes the state was in a fiscal crisis rather than a spending one.
"We have a rainy day fund that we haven't used," Blouin said, referring to a $250 million fund available during budget emergencies. "We need to use this money. The rainy day fund alone would save mental health alone this year."
Throughout Friday's event, protesters chanted a bevy of slogans, including "Blunt, Blunt, do your job. Save our health care, just like Bob," referencing former Gov. Bob Holden.
The event highlighted the possible economic ramifications of the proposed cuts and the potential human impact.
The Rev. James Morris came on behalf of the St. Louis branch of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, a national advocacy group for low-income communities. He called Blunt's proposed budget a tight-fisted one that ignored the economic gains to be had from maintaining current spending levels.
"The old-fashioned values I know about meant looking out for the sick, helping to provide for the disabled and making the elderly comfortable," Morris said.