But Democrats, like St. Louis County Representative Jeanne Kirkton, say that not doing the expansion means that Missouri would give up millions of dollars that it's entitled to receive.
Around the same time the Senate committee voted to kill LeVota's bill, another Democrat was offering another vehicle for Medicaid expansion during a House Budget Committee hearing. Rep. Jeanne Kirkton, D-St. Louis City, offered an amendment to the Department of Social Services budget bill that would have expanded the state's Medicaid rolls, but the amendment was defeated by the committee along party lines by a 20-10 vote.
Rep. Jeanne Kirkton, D-Webster Groves, said this legislation is a golden opportunity to grow Missouri's economy by "accepting the federal dollars to extend health care to more hardworking, uninsured Missourians." She said bringing the federal tax dollars back to Missouri is expected to decrease the rate of uninsured in Missouri in different regions of the state anywhere from 26 to 31 percent.