By Marshall Griffin, St. Louis Public Radio
Jefferson City, Mo. – Missouri may soon receive $400 million from Washington to help with Medicaid and with public school needs.
The U.S. Senate today passed a $26 billion package to boost aid to states. Missouri Budget Director Linda Luebbering says the money designated for Medicaid could be used elsewhere.
"The governor and the legislature agreed to keep our state funding for Medicaid at a higher rate that it really needs to be right now," Luebbering said. "So when that federal money comes to us, it's just reimbursing us for spending that we have already done, so it is general revenue."
Luebbering says the public school money, though, could only be spent on K-12 schools, and would have to be spent by the end of next June. It still has to be passed by the U.S. House, which could happen before the August recess begins.