Missouri Looks to Reduce In Home Services

Bill cutting in-home care moves forward in Missouri Senate

By Michael Bushnell and Rebecca Berg, State Capitol Bureau
April 20, 2010

JEFFERSON CITY - The Missouri Senate advanced a bill Monday that would reduce in-home services for those on the state's Medicaid program, over the objections of some Senators who said it would cut benefits without saving money.

Legislative staff estimated the bill, as written, would save the state $11 million in 2011. Sen. Tom Dempsey, R-St. Charles, who sponsored the bill, said this would be achieved in part by reducing reimbursements to those on Medicaid and allowing the state to privatize its assessments of who is eligible for in-home health care.

Currently, the state's health department is responsible for all assessments.
As of September, 42,827 Missourians on Medicaid received some kind of in-home health care treatment. Dempsey said reducing services is just one step towards balancing the state's budget, a process he said Gov. Jay Nixon made more painful.

For more, see http://www.globe-democrat.com/news/2010/apr/20/bill-cutting-home-care-moves-forward-missouri-sena/.