By Kevin Lavery, KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – The Missouri House has sent a bill to Governor Matt Blunt that cuts about 30,000 elderly and disabled persons and nearly 24,000 children from the Medicaid program.
Blunt has said the state cannot afford the program at its current size, and says cuts must be made to maintain other priorities such as education.
But the governor adds the state is not completely abandoning its responsibility.
"I want to be clear we'll still provide medical care for about a million people in the state of Missouri," Blunt said. "Missouri taxpayers will fund a social welfare program that provides health care for 15 percent of the residents of this state and I think Missouri taxpayers are being very generous."
Opponents say many critical care patients could die if they don't receive the services that would be lost under the new Medicaid bill.