July Missouri Benefits Report
A friend involved in national anti-hunger activities called to ask about the November election in Missouri. After a depressing summary of the state’s “All Hail The God Trump” GOP, well, we covered the two issues before the Department of Social Services: the lawsuit over SNAP (food stamps) and the federal bureaucrats concerns about Medicaid (MO HealthNet).
The discussion then turned to hard liquor with lunch.
Like most people outside this state, my friend lacked an understanding of “The Missouri Way,” that credo which guides His Accidency and the Republicans in the legislature. At their core, most of them agree with the notion expressed on the House floor that ‘all taxes are theft,’ that education really is a parental and not government obligation, that this is a Christian state within a Christian nation, and, minimum wage and other limits on employers remain against God’s will. [That’s serious: recall the Gospel story of the same pay going to those who worked all day against those who only clocked-in for a couple of hours. Matthew 20. 1 – 16.] Just do the least possible to get by as a state government. Then, cut taxes.
So, in that context caring more about cost control than meeting the needs of struggling families makes sense. Yes, both issues trace back to a lack of staff, inadequate support and technology, and, that basic unwillingness to do what’s right. (That ‘Christian’ language is all for show.)
Anyway, a couple of days after that call the Missouri Department of Social Services released the July 2022 Monthly Management Report for the Family Support Division and the MO HealthNet Division. They offer more weak numbers and further demonstrate a will to do as little as necessary to stay out of serious trouble.
Let’s start with Medicaid. The total number enrolled grew by just over 27,000 – + 2.1% from June. That might sound impressive except that the state is still almost four months behind federal requirements for processing Medicaid applications, and, qualified citizens remain stymied in getting in touch with state staff to apply. By the end of last month 209,810 Missourians were in the Adult Expansion group. Yet, that number includes about 54,000 women transferred into Adult Expansion from the Pregnant Women and Women’s Health Services categories. In other words, many months into enrollment Missouri only has about half the projected now eligible adults on the rolls.
Despite ridiculous inflation on food costs, Missouri has not committed available extra federal funds to SNAP benefits. The average benefit in July was $1.78 per person per meal: last July it was $2.46.
DSS uses the soccer for five year olds management model. Throw out the ball and let everyone run after it. They will point the scrum at the most pressing disaster while the bulk of their work falls further behind. They’ll try to get MO HealthNet enrollment caught-up till the heat is off there, then they’ll let Medicaid wither while they attempt to solve their food stamp accessibility issue. Again, that’s The Missouri Way.
Missouri July Benefits
2022 2017
Temporary Assistance
Children 10,704 21,389
Adults 2,975 6,906
Total 13,699 28,295
Benefits $1,337,021 $2,699,169
Per Family $ 228.08 $ 223.77
Per Day $ 7.36 $ 7.22
SNAP (Food Stamps)
Participants 663,821 751,641
Benefits $109,648,800 $92,388,942
Per Person $ 165.18 $ 122.92
Per Meal $ 1.78 $ 1.32
MO HealthNet (Medicaid)
Enrolled 1,326,458 986,466
Covered 1,312,045 1,067,042
Payments $1,084,604,377 $796,798,408
Per Patient $ 788.54 $ 746.74
Managed Care 1,014,551 810,705
M C Premium $ 323.06 $ 221.73
Nursing Care Patients 21,058 24,617
Cost Per Patient $4,368.58 $4,012.17
I’ve never been able to get a good explanation why in a state with an aging population and soaring need for nursing care why Missouri has fewer elderly citizens in nursing homes compared to a few years ago. It appears that the issue isn’t how many need care but how many facilities will accept the paltry amount the state pays.
Glenn
Photo source: Governor Mike Parson’s official Twitter Feed.