Media Contact: Traci Gleason
Missouri Community Leaders Urge Senators to Oppose Federal Medicaid Cuts
Congressional Proposal Would Cause Missourians to Become Uninsured,
Endanger Health Access to Rural Communities
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo, June 2, 2025 – As the U.S. Senate reconvenes in Washington this week, community leaders gathered in Jefferson City to urge Missouri Senators Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt to reject the package of Medicaid cuts passed by the U.S. House in May.
Medicaid helps keep Missourians and their families healthy, so they can work, succeed in school, and contribute to their communities. But Congress is rushing through a plan that will take health care away from working families, causing at least 110,000 Missourians to lose their health coverage and become uninsured.
“These cuts will hurt working families across Missouri, including children, older adults, Missourians with serious health conditions or disabilities, and workers in low-paying jobs,” said Amy Blouin, President and CEO of Missouri Budget Project. “Moreover, this bill would increase health care costs for Missourians and put rural health services at risk.”
Many of the cuts in the House bill result from significant barriers and administrative obstacles intended to eliminate health coverage. States that have enacted similar red tape, including work requirements, experienced large coverage losses, with enrollees who were meeting work requirements or were eligible for exemptions losing care. Large proportions of eligible people lost health care in those states because of administrative errors and steep barriers caused by reporting requirements.
About 90 percent of Missourians under 65 with Medicaid coverage already working or would qualify for an exemption due to disability, caregiving, or enrollment as a student – but given the experience in other states, their health coverage would still be at risk due to administrative issues.
The loss of their health care coverage will make it harder for Missourians to work. Creating more barriers does not help working families, but as leaders in Jefferson City indicated, the bill would put the health and economic well-being of Missourians in jeopardy.
“Missourians living with mental health disorders often face significant barriers to consistent employment due to their health needs,” said Suzanne King, President & CEO,
Mental Health America of Eastern Missouri. “Conditioning access to care on work not only jeopardizes their treatment and recovery, but also leads to higher long-term costs and worse outcomes for communities.”
“Moving this bill forward would be a step backward for cancer patients, survivors, and those Missourians who might be diagnosed in the future,” said Emily Kalmer, Missouri Government Relations Director for American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. “Medicaid eligibility promotes earlier cancer detection, fewer deaths, and improved outcomes for patients. This bill would put up huge roadblocks to critical health insurance coverage and put cancer patients at risk of losing coverage in the middle of treatment.”
Moreover, all Missourians with Medicaid would be at risk of losing their coverage as a result of the House bill because of the significantly increased burden on Missouri’s already struggling enrollment and eligibility systems.
“Although most of my family is covered by private insurance coverage, Medicaid coverage has been a lifeline for one of my daughters, who has severe disabilities,” said Courtney Leader, an Ash Grove mother of five. “Without it, we would lose everything — our home, our vehicles and, eventually, our daughter.”
“I’m terrified that further red tape throughout the system will disrupt my daughter’s care and put her health in jeopardy,” Leader said. “I coordinate her health care with multiple specialists, so I’m pretty savvy at navigating systems. Medicaid is a lifesaver, but I’ve seen the challenges of an overburdened system firsthand, and felt the panic when my paperwork was lost. I’m worried these additional federal administrative requirements are going to disrupt people’s health care.”
Rural Missourians – including those with private health insurance – will be particularly harmed by the proposed federal changes.
“In rural Missouri, Medicaid is not just a safety net for individuals – it’s the backbone of our entire healthcare system. Our rural hospitals, health clinics, and Federally Qualified Health Centers rely heavily on Medicaid reimbursements to keep their doors open. Many are already operating on razor-thin margins, and cuts to Medicaid could push them over the edge, leaving entire communities without access to emergency care, maternity services, or even basic preventive care,” said Heidi N. Lucas, Executive Director of Missouri Rural Health Association.
“Not to mention the economic impact to those communities that lose their health system,” Lucas added. “The loss of quality high paying jobs has a ripple effect on entire communities.”
The group urged Missouri’s U.S. Senators to oppose the House cuts, emphasizing that the cuts will cut people off from health care and make life harder for Missourians.
“I relied on Medicaid until I was 18, then I spent five years uninsured, managing asthma without coverage,” said Dr. Danielle Binion, Chief Strategy Office for Community Health Commission of Missouri. “Today, too many of our neighbors, young people, and working families face that same risk of losing coverage. Cuts to Medicaid would deepen the gaps across our state, forcing Missourians to delay care or go without it altogether. Access to healthcare should never be a luxury. We must protect and strengthen Medicaid for Missouri’s future.”
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