By Marshall Griffin, KWMU
Jefferson City, MO. – Governor Matt Blunt's proposal to do away with the state's Medicaid system has been introduced in the Missouri Senate.
Missouri HealthNet is being sponsored in the senate by Republican Charlie Shields of St. Joseph.
He says all Medicaid participants will be placed under the new plan, but not all at once.
"We start in 2008and finish up by 2009, bringing in all the moms and kids," Shields said. "Then we bring half of the remaining population of the A.B.D., in 2010."
And A.B.D. refers to the aging, blind, and disabled population of Missouri.
Shields says the rest would be brought under Missouri HealthNet by the year 2013.
Not everyone thinks that's a good idea. The Missouri Budget Project thinks a 5-year implementation would be too long for some low-income residents.