By Maria Hickey, KWMU
Jefferson City, Mo. – The Missouri state Senate has passed legislation cutting the Medicaid health care program for the poor.
Thursday's 20-to-11 vote sends the bill to the House. Senators had given their preliminary approval to the bill earlier in the week.
Kirkwood Republican Mike Gibbons says the current system doesn't work.
"This system I think by all accounts is a complete, unmitigated failure," Gibbons said. "I believe it fails the people of Missouri who need this help the most."
The Senate's top Democrat, Maida Coleman of St. Louis, says the move takes away health care from those who most need.
The legislation authorizes much of Governor Matt Blunt's plan to eliminate about 100,000 of Missouri's one million Medicaid recipients by toughening the eligibility standards.