Today – on a vehicle in west central Missouri:

Yesterday – from a member of the right wingnut majority in the Missouri General Assembly:

Sara Walsh [r], State Representative
Today, I voted NO on Medicaid expansion (HB 20). The bill failed 20 to 9. This is a MASSIVE expansion of welfare. HB 20 is a $1.8 BILLION dollar bill in Fiscal Year 2022 alone. We MUST make wise decisions today so we don’t leave a nightmare for future generations of Missourians once Federal funds dry up. It is not the will of the people to bankrupt the state, ultimately drastically increase taxes (once Federal funds dry up) or to put able-bodied adults at the front of the line ahead of individuals with disabilities, seniors and children. House Budget Chair Cody Smith plans on filing HB 21 tomorrow, which the House Budget Committee will take up the week after next. It will include some of the funding in HB 20 to help the most vulnerable Missourians.

A few of the comments:

So the will of the people of MO means nothing to you…got it! Why do Republicans hate democracy so much these days???

So, you and 19 other “representatives” voted against what the majority of Missourians wanted?
And…you think that you should be proud of that? You’re giving out misinformation to strike fear in the people who don’t actually understand how the funding works to garner support. It’s dishonest…but I’m not surprised.

Sara, you can pout and pander to your “all govt. is bad, down with all govt.” base all you want. Medicaid expansion is part of the MO constitution as of last August whether you vote to fund it or not. You are wasting everyone’s time and will eventually, no doubt, waste a courtroom’s time with this obstinance.

Your rationale is false and misleading, both about the finances and about the will of the people. The Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH) and the Brown School of Public Health at WashU studied this extensively, and showed huge financial benefits in both the near term ($38 million saved in Year 1) and in the long term (up to $1 billion per year by Year 5).
Second, we the people already voted for Medicaid expansion in August 2020.
DO. YOUR. JOB.

Oh awesome. Voters say one thing but clearly you know better.

It’s amazing how thick headed your part is in this state. I guarantee you vote for the next TAX CUT proposed by your party but then complain about the cost of things?
You and your entire political party make me want to vomit.
“It is not the will of the people to bankrupt the state”
And yet just a little over a year ago the Missouri GOP (your people) wanted to give Boeing a TWO BILLION DOLLAR TAX BREAK to bring 191 jobs here that would have never in a million years made up for that loss of income. That’s MORE than the amount you have listed here and your party was completely fine with throwing that money away. Until the GOP of this state stop giving away money left and right to the rich like Rex Sinquefield you have no room to complain or whine about the cost of things which are LESS than the cost of things your party will pass without blinking an eye. That last quarter billion dollar tax break was paid for by jacking DMV fees happen to remember that giveaway?
If we are so broke we can’t take care of our own people there should never again be the word TAX CUT mentioned in the Missouri Senate. For any reason. EVER.

You are an idiot. You just turned down $1.5 billion in Federal money that could have ensured healthy lives for your constituents. The state loses a ton of tax revenue and increases their welfare expenses every time a person becomes disabled, and thousands of people each year become disabled because they don’t have access to preventative medicine or therapy. Expanding Medicare is a short-term expense that creates long-term benefits, like any other infrastructure investment.
Or do you not see human beings as valuable enough to invest in?
Don’t EVER try to call yourself “pro-life” after you voted this way.

Republicans have decided to go full fascist on us. We voted to clean up our elections. The next election the Republicans put forth a misleading bill to overthrow the will of the people. We voted for Medical Marijuana. Republicans opposed it, then when it passed they have slow walked it and used the process to reward their friends with licenses to grow, distribute, and sell at dispensaries. This is now under investigation. They lost an election and they tried to take over by violent insurrection. We voted to expand medicaid. Now Republicans are blocking us from getting it, once again. Maybe we should drop your pay to minimum wage rate and take away any benefits such as healthcare. You have no problem with others having no insurance or a living wage. What a useless, unqualified, piece of human waste. Typical Republican and a racist to boot. You actually said that voters in urban and suburban neighborhoods should not count. Now since you realize you can’t win a majority of votes in an election you are pursuing drastic voter suppression efforts here in Missouri and throughout the country in red states. I don’t consider you an American. You are anti American and a Fascist. I hope you like the cesspool you lay in.

Way to ignore the voters’ will. You are a disgrace. Crawl back to the backwoods.

Apparently, for Sara Walsh (r), the Missouri Constitution is aspirational, just not in our lifetimes.

IV Section 36(c). MO HealthNet expansion — eligibility — state plan amendments — maximization of federal participation — limitation on burdens or restrictions. — 1. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, beginning July 1, 2021, individuals nineteen years of age or older and under sixty-five years of age who qualify for MO HealthNet services under 42 U.S.C. Section 1396a(a)(10)(A)(i)(VIII) and as set forth in 42 C.F.R. 435.119, and who have income at or below one hundred thirty-three percent of the federal poverty level plus five percent of the applicable family size as determined under 42 U.S.C. Section 1396a(e)(14) and as set forth in 42 C.F.R. 435.603, shall be eligible for medical assistance under MO HealthNet and shall receive coverage for the health benefits service package.

  2. For purposes of this section “health benefits service package” shall mean benefits covered by the MO HealthNet program as determined by the department of social services to meet the benchmark or benchmark-equivalent coverage requirement under 42 U.S.C. Section 1396a(k)(1) and any implementing regulations.

  3. No later than March 1, 2021, the Department of Social Services and the MO HealthNet Division shall submit all state plan amendments necessary to implement this section to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

  4. The Department of Social Services and the MO HealthNet Division shall take all actions necessary to maximize federal financial participation in funding medical assistance pursuant to this section.

  5. No greater or additional burdens or restrictions on eligibility or enrollment standards, methodologies, or practices shall be imposed on persons eligible for MO HealthNet services pursuant to this section than on any other population eligible for medical assistance.

  6. All references to federal or state statutes, regulations or rules in this section shall be to the version of those statutes, regulations or rules that existed on January 1, 2019.

(Adopted August 4, 2020)

How inconvenient.

Does that make other parts of the Missouri Constitution optional, too? Just asking.