Chamber of Commerce supports Medicaid expansion

The Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday joined a growing list of chambers and other organizations across the state in supporting Medicaid expansion in Missouri -- an issue that continues to be a point of contention in the state Legislature.

Fifteen members of the chamber's 19-member board of directors voted Tuesday morning to support the expansion with several recommendations, which president and CEO John Mehner said should make the organization's position very clear.

Gov. Jay Nixon has said the expansion will bring as much as $5.7 billion in federal dollars to the state and provide health coverage to an additional 300,000 Missourians during the next three years. Many Republican state lawmakers oppose the expansion, which is a cornerstone of President Barack Obama's health-care law.

Republican Missouri House Speaker Tim Jones has said Nixon's plan to expand Medicaid means tax dollars will be sent "into a broken system."

Mehner pointed out many chambers, including those representing St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbia and Springfield, have endorsed the expansion.

A significant portion of the chamber's membership, including businesses small and large that fall into the medical sector, asked the chamber to consider taking a position.

"There are obviously ones that had a huge stake in the decision and asked us to take a look at it, but I think this is one the board had conversations at all levels for," Mehner said.

Hospitals stand to lose financially if Medicaid is not expanded, and could look elsewhere for money -- sending larger bills to insurance companies.

"Everything going on at the medical level is one part," Mehner said. "The other part is that our federal dollars are going into this program, and if not in the state of Missouri then in another state."

Steven Bjelich, president and CEO of Saint Francis Medical Center, has come out strongly in favor of the expansion.

"Saint Francis Medical Center, along with the Missouri Hospital Association, has been out front in expressing the need for Medicaid expansion in Missouri," he said in a prepared statement. "We believe it is the right thing to do for our most vulnerable residents, and it is the right thing to do for Missouri's economy from a business perspective. We are glad to see the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce support Medicaid expansion in the state to positively impact the health care community and the economy as a whole."

Southeast Hospital president and CEO Wayne Smith has warned of negative consequences for hospitals if the expansion isn't approved. He said in an emailed statement the chamber's board had "thoroughly and thoughtfully studied the issue."

Chamber board chairman Thomas M. Meyer wrote in a news release Tuesday the chamber "spent a couple months watching this debate unfold and took additional time to research, review, and debate our position. We understand the need to reform Medicaid and other concerns associated with the expansion issue, however we also understand the importance of bringing federal dollars back to the citizens of Missouri. Our support comes with the three strong recommendations listed in our position statement. We also take this opportunity to issue a call to action to our federal government to work hard to achieve a balance."

State Rep. Kathy Swan, R-Cape Girardeau, said while she found the recommendations placed with the chamber's endorsements favorable, she does not support the expansion as proposed by Nixon and wants to see how alternative proposals that are making their way through the House will affect the issue.

"An unconditional acceptance without a long-term vision is to me not the solution, because if we expand, we have to have a way to have long-term funding," Swan said.

She supports legislation filed recently by state Rep. Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, Mo., that would offer cash incentives to patients who hold down their health-care costs. Under Barnes' bill, an additional 180,000 people could become eligible to receive Medicaid.

Southeast Missourian managing editor Matt Sanders contributed to this report.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

1267 N. Mount Auburn Road, Cape Girardeau, MO