OSP Supports Missouri House Bill 21

In every state that has expanded Medicaid to able-bodied adults who are capable of working, we see the same disastrous results: hospital closures, shattered enrollment projections, and unsustainable, skyrocketing costs.

Thanks to the leadership of representatives like Missouri House Budget Chairman Cody Smith (R-Carthage) and House Speaker Rob Vescovo, our Missouri legislators have stood up to the unfunded Medicaid expansion push in order to protect resources for the truly needy. On March 25, the House budget committee voted against Medicaid expansion via HB 20 on a 20-9 vote!

On March 26, Rep. Smith filed House Bill 21 following the sound defeat of House Bill 20. In contrast to HB 20, HB 21 focuses on helping people with disabilities and the truly needy, funding schools, supporting the elderly, bolstering public defenders, and keeping taxes stable—devoting limited state resources to those who truly need them.

“Representative Smith and House Budget Committee Republicans have shown strong leadership in standing up for what is right in the Show-Me state,” said Gregg Pfister, OSP senior fellow. “They have made it clear that in Missouri, the voiceless and the vulnerable are the first in line to receive state resources. This is a decision that Missourians should be proud of and the committee should be praised for.”