During this Passover/Easter season, one naturally reflects on moral, religious and economic issues that permeate various aspects of our lives.  The Missouri General Assembly is dealing with such a timely and important matter this year: Medicaid expansion. 

When the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare), the ruling left it up to the states to decide whether to expand Medicaid.  As of this writing, 26 states have expanded Medicaid; 24 have not, including Missouri. 

As a board member of the statewide Missouri Health Advocacy Alliance representing the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of St. Louis, I am intimately involved with statewide efforts to expand Medicaid in Missouri during this General Assembly session.  The JCRC, an umbrella organization of 30 community organizations and agencies, is the public-affairs arm of the organized Jewish community.  The JCRC educates, advocates and acts on issues at the local, state and national levels.

The JCRC, as a founding member of Missouri Health Care for All and the Alliance, supports full Medicaid expansion, which, according to a JCRC resolution, would “benefit many of the most vulnerable in our state and enable them to get critically needed health care.”

In the Jewish tradition, to save one life is to save the world.  Passing Medicaid expansion will save hundreds of lives every year.

In the 1930s, there was opposition to Social Security, but it became law and has helped millions.  In the 1960s, there was opposition to Medicare, but it became law and has helped millions. Now, initial opposition to expanding Medicaid is dwindling. Yet, islands of resistance remain in the Missouri Legislature.  

State Senate and House members should vote to expand Medicaid to cover adults ages 19 to 64 with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, which is, for example, $23,850 for a family of four.  

A broad-based, bipartisan group of Missourians agree, including business groups such as the Missouri Chamber of Commerce; medical and health-related organizations such as the Missouri Hospital Association and the American Cancer Society; and faith-based groups including the JCRC of St. Louis, the Missouri Catholic Conference and Metropolitan Congregations United.  A list of the range of organizations supporting full Medicaid Expansion can be found at http://on.mo.gov/1tt5aTP.

Jobs is a major reason why many groups support expanding Medicaid.  Besides saving lives, Medicaid expansion will create and sustain thousands of jobs in the health care sector.  

Expanding Medicaid will keep rural hospitals open and provide critically needed financial support to urban hospitals that serve disproportionate numbers of people with no health insurance. Doctors and hospitals could lose federal subsidies for uncompensated care, leading to higher insurance rates and threatening the existence of smaller hospitals, especially those in rural areas.   

Furthermore, according to a recent study by the University of Missouri, Medicaid expansion in the Show Me State would add nearly $1.2 million annually to the state’s economy through the federal contribution to the state’s Medicaid program, including producing nearly 24,000 health care and related jobs in its first year of implementation. Failing to expand Medicaid could affect the cost and availability of care, even for those with insurance.  

Missourians are already paying federal taxes that support full Medicaid expansion without regard to the level of participation in the program by the state.  Expanding Medicaid to 138 percent of the federal poverty level will recapture those tax dollars for our shared benefit. In addition, the federal government will continue to pay 100 percent of the costs of expansion through 2016.  

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, found a way to pass Medicaid expansion despite resistance from his GOP-dominated legislature.  When asked why he did it, Kasich said that when his time comes to enter heaven, G-d is not going to ask what he did to make government small.  Rather, G-d will ask what he did to help the poor. Kasich can now say he helped pass Medicaid expansion in Ohio.  

Missouri should do no less.  Both chambers of the General Assembly should vote on Medicaid expansion this session, which ends May 16, and any filibuster threats to prevent such an action should not be tolerated.  If one is against such a matter, vote no.  But, let the legislative process continue.

Please call your state legislators at 1-800-980-4407 and tell them to pass Medicaid expansion now. To find out other ways you can help pass full Medicaid expansion, contact the JCRC of St. Louis at 314-442-3894 or email [email protected].