Rural Hospitals Continue to Close As GOP Gov. Mike Parson Blocks Medicaid Expansion

In Missouri, seven rural hospitals have shut their doors since 2010 – eliminating 348 hospital beds across the state. So what’s helping to drive these closures? Missouri has not expanded Medicaid – and GOP Gov. Mike Parson has no desire to change that.
The National Association of Rural Hospitals reports that Medicaid expansion can reduce the likelihood of rural hospital closures by over 62 percent. Across states facing hospital closures, states who have refused to expand Medicaid are facing the highest rates. Yet, Gov. Mike Parson is vehemently against expanding Medicaid in the state.
Meanwhile, thanks to Democratic governors like Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and Maine Gov. Janet Mills who have expanded Medicaid in their states, hundreds of thousands of individuals have gained coverage and rural hospitals have been saved.
“Missourians across the state are losing access to the health care they desperately need, yet Gov. Mike Parson refuses to do anything about it,” said DGA Deputy Communications Director Christina Amestoy. “Medicaid expansion saves lives and saves hospitals, and it is unconscionable that Parson continues to stand in its way.”