For Immediate Release: July 1, 2025
Contact: Amy Blouin,
U.S. Senate Passes Budget Reconciliation
Senate-passed budget reconciliation bill puts health coverage and food assistance for hundreds of thousands of Missourians on the chopping block
In a final vote this morning, the U.S. Senate chose to take health coverage and food assistance away from Americans, shift costs to states, and make life harder for families struggling to make ends meet. If passed by the House, it would enact a massive wealth transfer from working class people to the ultra-rich, providing huge tax cuts for corporations and people earning $500,000 or more each year, while slashing support for basic needs, broadly increasing health care and insurance costs, and hurting rural economies.
“Despite the rhetoric from DC, this bill puts Medicaid and food assistance at risk for all Missourians, even when they’re eligible, and even when they meet requirements,” said Amy Blouin, President and CEO of Missouri Budget Project, a nonprofit public policy analysis organization that analyzes state budget, tax, and economic issues. “The changes are expected to eliminate health coverage for more than 170,000 Missourians, including children, older adults, Missourians with serious health conditions and disabilities, veterans, and workers with low-paying jobs.”
“The bill undermines our country’s long-standing commitment to make sure families don’t go hungry,” Blouin continued. “And it’s a particular blow to Missouri’s rural communities, where some health care providers may have to shut down and local economies will be hurt.”
The Senate bill doubles down on the harm that would have been inflicted by the House bill, making even deeper cuts to basic needs programs. The bulk of these cuts come from:
- Creating new barriers and red tape for both Medicaid (called MO HealthNet in Missouri) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP), which would cause eligible Missourians to lose health insurance and food assistance.
- Shifting large costs to states, which will likely force additional cuts to health care and food assistance, or other deep cuts to state services like K-12 education.
“Missouri is already facing a steep budget cliff, with Governor Kehoe vetoing or withholding more than $500 million in state general revenue from the state budget,” said Blouin. “Our state will also see further revenue decreases from state tax cuts that will be going into effect. Missouri will struggle to pick up these costs, and state lawmakers will face extremely difficult choices, like whether to get rid of SNAP in Missouri, eliminate optional benefits like home- and community-based services that keep people living in their communities, or cut funding for services like education.
The Senate made two notable changes related to Medicaid. One would restrict how states fund their Medicaid match. In Missouri, the provision reducing allowable state provider taxes would cost an estimated $675 million per year when fully in effect. When combined with federal funds, it would reduce funding available for Medicaid by $1.9 billion per year.
Rural areas would see significant Medicaid cuts, with Missouri’s rural hospitals facing a cut of $1.4 billion. Rural hospitals and health clinics often operate on very thin margins, and they rely on Medicaid payments to keep their doors open.
“The Senate’s rural hospital fund is like a band-aid to a severed artery,” said Blouin. “The Senate’s massive cuts are permanent, and this temporary fund will only cover a fraction of the losses our communities will face. The cuts could force providers to shut down altogether, leaving everyone in those communities without access to care, regardless of their insurance coverage.”
When rural communities lose providers, they also lose a major source of economic activity. Similarly, SNAP is a significant economic driver in rural areas. The loss of funding and jobs will have a domino effect that damages local economies.
Thousands of other Missourians will lose health coverage due to other changes in the bill affecting health care insurance through the marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act.
“The harms from this bill will affect all Missourians,” emphasized Blouin. “When people don’t have insurance, they still get sick, but their care is more likely to be in an emergency setting. And when hospitals can’t recoup their costs, it increases the cost of healthcare and insurance for us all.”
“This entire bill is about choices. So far, Congress has made the choice to increase the nation’s deficit and prioritize the wants of the 1% over the basic needs of millions of Americans,” concluded Blouin.
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The Missouri Budget Project is a nonprofit public policy analysis organization that analyzes state budget, tax, and economic issues.
