We haven’t been here before, beset by a pandemic capable of killing millions of Americans in just weeks. Around the world governments act decisively.
Meanwhile, in Missouri, accidental governor Mike Parson remains content to lead from the rear. Other governors closed schools. Parson dithered, claiming that ought to be a local decision. Other governors activated their national guard and devoted special resources to state health departments. Our director of Health and Senior Services, Randall W. Williams, MD, has largely been Missing In Action, content to stand safely in the back at press briefings.
Of course, Williams’ deck lacks face cards. The legislature has starved all of state government for decades. And, recently Williams has been busy tracking menstrual instead of infectious disease.
Still, the coming impact of the coronavirus will roll over us like a dump truck hitting a minivan.
► Missouri has been hemorrhaging health care capacity. Thanks to a failure to expand Medicaid and consolidation in the hospital industry, the state has fewer hospital beds (with acute shortages in rural areas).
► The Department of Social Services can’t expand to handle the coming tsunami. The Call Center based “system” couldn’t keep up with their pre-disease workload. As I’ve noted, many families eligible for help can’t get it. In a few weeks hundreds of thousands of additional Missourians will qualify for MO HealthNet even under the current, stingy limits. Plus, many unemployed and their families will become eligible for SNAP (a.k.a. food stamps). The state won’t be able to process their applications in a timely fashion.
► The state will soon be broke. Missouri’s two major sources of General Revenue – individual income tax and sales taxes – wither in a recession. Within a couple of weeks the state won’t have the money to meet basic obligations, much less respond to the virus.
► The majority party in Jefferson City won’t expand government to meet the needs of the people. During this week’s debate on the first round response to the coronavirus the GOP leadership went cheap. Expect a lot of talk on “personal responsibility” but no concrete response which requires government activity.
Let’s go back to that DSS issue. Note that state bureaucrats and political appointees recently claimed that this state purposely fell years behind on federally-required annual re-evaluation of Medicaid families. That was a quick excuse – along with blaming a lack of “responsibility” by parents – to explain away better than 100,000 eligible kids losing health coverage.
Now that same system faces a 50% increase in Missourians eligible for help. Instead of 658,000 food stampers, expect 1,000,000+. Watch MO HealthNet face 1,250,000 eligible citizens.
Why? The restaurant and hospitality industry evaporated this week. Other than grocers, retail is gone. Major manufacturers are closing the assembly lines. The result will be hundreds of thousands of formerly working and middle class families toppling into poverty. Missouri government can’t handle that.
For the past couple of nights Missouri has been featured on what’s basically a List of Shame by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. We need to get used to that.
Glenn