Last week, Lt. Gov. Pete Kinder estimated that if national health care reform as currently envisioned in Washington is passed, it will require additional funding from Missouri in the range of $450 million.
During a Globe editorial board meeting Monday with the Republican House leadership, those attending were asked if they thought that was an accurate assessment of potential impact on the state and how it would find the funds to meet that challenge. The answers were startling.
Of course there is no specific bill in Washington upon which to base an assessment of the real impact on the state. But given the form of the current debate in Washington, there was no argument from any of the representatives present that Kinder’s estimate was not at least in the range of possibility.
Other than trimming here and there, no one suggested how to make significant cuts in existing programs to meet potential federal mandates resulting from national health care reform.
The board was also told that Medicaid is a voluntary program for states and the federal government to “share” costs of health care for the low-income. States have the option to not participate. It was suggested that if federal health care requirements for additional state funding reached unmanageable levels, the state would have to consider “opting out” of Medicaid.
Closing the discussion, Speaker of the House Ron Richard, of Joplin, and others were emphatic that absolutely no tax increases would be passed in Missouri to support any health care reforms.
More financial requirements are undoubtedly going to be imposed on Missouri. The amount is unknown for now. It will be hard, if not impossible, to find existing funds in current programs — especially given the pledge not to raise taxes.
What next, folks, is our question for both Democratic and Republican legislators in Jefferson City and Washington, D.C.
