KC CHAMBER JOINS LEGAL APPEAL TO EXPAND MEDICAID IN MISSOURI

Jul 01, 2021

Category:

KC Chamber

The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce has officially joined the legal appeal to expand Medicaid in Missouri. The Chamber is part of a statewide coalition that filed an amicus curiae brief before the Missouri Supreme Court, Wednesday, June 30. Also part of the coalition: the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City, Greater St. Louis, Inc., the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce. 

“Expanding Medicaid is good for business and good for the state,” said KC Chamber President & CEO Joe Reardon. “It will help create new jobs, bring top talent to Missouri, and maintain a healthy workforce. It also means a more equitable economy, especially as the KC region continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. We know it’s key to making KC a globally competitive and attractive place to start and grow a business. For these reasons we are joining the effort in front of the State Supreme Court to make sure the will of the people is upheld, and voter-approved Medicaid expansion is enacted.”  

The KC Chamber was the first chamber of commerce in the state to publicly support Medicaid expansion. It has been our highest legislative priority for more than a decade. Data from Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI) shows expansion would: 

  • Create more than 16,000 new jobs. 

  • Grow the gross domestic product by $1.6 billion. 

  • Increase the state’s economic output by a $2.5 billion per year.  

Each of these outcomes intersects with the heart of the KC Chamber’s work towards inclusive economic prosperity for Greater Kansas City, but also leads to net new state tax revenue, which directly contradicts the trial court’s concern around the availability of appropriated funds for expansion.  

The brief asked the Missouri Supreme Court to overturn the ruling of the Cole County Circuit Court and find that the State of Missouri must expand Medicaid coverage — as the majority of Missouri voters approved last year — and fund it, which the Missouri General Assembly failed to do. The Court will hear arguments on the case beginning July 13. A copy of the amicus curiae brief to the Missouri Supreme Court is available here.