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Missouri Voters Approve Medicaid Expansion Despite GOP Resistance

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3 years ago

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Despite strong opposition from Republicans and rural voters, Missouri on Tuesday joined 37 states and the District of Columbia in expanding its Medicaid program. Voters in Missouri approved creating a state constitutional amendment that will open Medicaid eligibility to include healthy adults starting July 1, 2021.

Voters approved expansion by a margin of 6.5 percentage points.

Missouri joins five other mostly conservative states that have passed Medicaid expansion via ballot initiatives — most recently, Oklahoma, on June 30. Most of the remaining 12 states that have not expanded Medicaid are Republican-leaning states in the South.

Nika Cotton, owner of Soulcentricitea, a new tea shop in Kansas City, Missouri, woke to the news on Wednesday morning. Cotton, whose children are 8 and 10, said she will qualify for health care coverage under the expansion.

“It takes a lot of stress off of my shoulders with having to think about how I’m going to take care of myself, how I’m going to be able to go and see a doctor and get the health care I need while I’m starting my business,” Cotton said.

Medicaid expansion, which states have the option of adopting as part of the Affordable Care Act, extends eligibility in the program to individuals and families with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level. A family of three, like Cotton’s, could make up to $29,974 to qualify.

The federal government pays for 90% of expansion costs.

As of 2018, 9.3% of Missourians were uninsured. And in 2019, researchers from Washington University in St. Louis estimated that around 230,000 people in Missouri would enroll for Medicaid if it were expanded. The study also showed expansion would save the state an estimated $39 million a year, largely by eliminating the need for other state health spending.

Missouri’s adoption of expansion follows a trend of increasing support in largely Republican states, according to health policy expert Rachel Nuzum of the Commonwealth Fund.

“What we’ve seen in our surveys over the years is when you take the labels off of the policies, when you take the Affordable Care Act label off, when you take Medicaid expansion off, and just start asking people whether or not you think low-income families should have access to Medicaid coverage, the support is overwhelming,” Nuzum said.

Support for expansion came largely from voters in and around Missouri’s urban centers such as Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield and Columbia. In Kansas City for example, 87.6% of voters backed the measure.

Amendment 2 was rejected overwhelmingly by conservative voters in the mostly rural parts of the state that have the highest uninsured and poverty rates. Voters in McDonald, Morgan and Scotland counties, which have the three highest uninsured rates in the state, rejected the measure by margins of nearly 2-to-1 or greater.

Expansion opponents warned that high enrollment in the program could lead to the state’s 10% share of the costs becoming a significant burden for Missouri, especially when state revenues are down.

“When state revenues fall, it begs the question, how are you going to pay for this?” said Ryan Johnson, in late July. He is a senior adviser for United for Missouri, a conservative policy advocacy organization.

“We’re concerned that they are going to have to raid public education,” he said, “and that’s a disservice to the kiddos who hope to go back to school this fall, the teachers, the administrators and everyone involved in the public education system.”

Responding to declining revenue related to the coronavirus, Missouri’s Republican governor, Mike Parson, recently reduced the 2021 budget by nearly $449 million, with education taking the hardest hit.

Health care experts have said that the economic effects of the pandemic, including high unemployment and lower state revenue, could strain the capacity of state Medicaid programs. However, health care advocates argue that expansion benefits individuals and families struggling as a result of the pandemic, and the influx of federal dollars and the jobs that result from expansion could help the economy.

“If we’re worried about the economy and we’re worried about people working, Medicaid expansion is actually a way to encourage people to work and not have that worry they’re going to lose health insurance for themselves or their families,” said Ryan Barker, vice president of strategic initiatives for Missouri Foundation for Health.

Republican state lawmakers have fiercely resisted Medicaid expansion. The expansion question was placed on the ballot after a petition.

Expansion advocates enlisted the Fairness Project, a Washington, D.C.-based campaigning organization, in developing and executing their campaign strategy. The Fairness Project has been involved in successful Medicaid expansion campaigns in other mostly conservative states, including Maine, Utah, Idaho, Nebraska and Oklahoma.

The “YES on 2” campaign was supported by a wide range of groups, including the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Missouri Hospital Association, the NAACP, the AFL-CIO and the AARP, among others. And, the coalition forged unlikely alliances, including Planned Parenthood supporters and Catholic Charities of St. Louis, which is operated by the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

YES on 2 campaign material made almost no mention of the Affordable Care Act, which has been unpopular in Missouri, and some of its flyers didn’t use the words “Medicaid expansion.”

Although support for the measure was much lower in conservative rural areas, Fairness Project executive director Jonathan Schleifer said Missouri’s expansion success relied on both activating progressive urban voters and engaging rural voters — though conservative resistance remained a significant obstacle to reforming health care policy.

“I think there’s still a lot of work to do to push back against the hundreds of millions of dollars, the public messages coming from as high as the White House, that there’s something wrong with the Affordable Care Act,” Schleifer said.

Opponents to expansion included Gov. Parson and other Republican lawmakers, Missouri Right to Life, Missouri Farm Bureau and Americans for Prosperity.

In the days leading up to the election, the “No on 2 in August” campaign sent a mailer suggesting that expansion would lead to an influx of undocumented immigrants seeking health care, but undocumented immigrants are not eligible for Medicaid and would not be under expansion, either.

The flyer, which featured a man in a medical mask emblazoned with the Mexican flag, read “Amendment 2 Means Illegal Immigrants Flooding Missouri Hospitals … While We Pay for It!”

The “No On 2 in August” campaign did not respond to requests for comment about the flyer.

Between serving customers on a busy morning on Wednesday, shop owner Cotton said her excitement about expansion was only slightly diminished by having to wait almost a year for it to take effect.

“It’s better late than never,” said Cotton. “The fact that it’s coming is better than nothing.”

This story is part of a partnership that includes KCUR, NPR and Kaiser Health News.

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

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This story can be republished for free (details).

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By: Alex Smith, KCUR
Title: Missouri Voters Approve Medicaid Expansion Despite GOP Resistance
Sourced From: khn.org/news/missouri-voters-approve-medicaid-expansion-despite-gop-resistance/
Published Date: Wed, 05 Aug 2020 18:40:33 +0000

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Ends-of-the-World Every Year Since 1970

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3 years ago

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August 14, 2020

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There always has been and always will be a reason not to invest or not to stay invested. This is all the mainstream media reports to us. Below you will find a list of some of the worst global events each year since 1970. I have some commentary to follow.

1970: War: US troops invade Cambodia.
1971: Civil Unrest: Anti-war militants march on Washington.
1972: Political: Start of Watergate Scandal.
1973: Economic: OPEC raises oil prices in response to US involvement abroad.
1974: Political: Nixon resigns as President of the United States.
1975: Political: Multiple assassination attempts on President Ford.
1976: World: Ebola virus.
1977: Political: Government shutdowns.
1978: Market: U.S. Dollar plunges to record low against many European currencies.
1979: World: Iranian militants seize the U.S. embassy in Teheran and hold hostages.
1980: Economic: Inflation spiked to a high of 14.76%.
1981: Political: President Reagan assassination attempt.
1982: Economic: Recession continues in the U.S. with nationwide unemployment of 10.8%.
1983: Economic: Unemployment in the U.S. reaches 12 million.
1984: Economic: 70 U.S. banks fail during the year.
1985: World: Multiple airplane hijackings around the world.
1986: World: Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station explodes.
1987: Market: DOW drops by 22.6% on October 22.
1988: Environment: Awareness of global warming and the greenhouse effect grows.
1989: Environment: Exxon Valdez dumps 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound.
1990: World: Persian Gulf War starts.
1991: World: Mass shooting in Killeen, TX.
1992: Human Rights: Los Angeles riots following the death of Rodney King.
1993: Terrorism: World Trade Center bombing.
1994: World: Mass genocide in Rwanda.
1995: Terrorism: Oklahoma City bombing.
1996: Terrorism: Olympic Park bombing.
1997: World: Bird flu.
1998: World: Multiple U.S. embassy bombings.
1999: World: Columbine shooting.
2000: Economic: Start of the Dotcom Market Crash.
2001: Terrorism: Terrorist Attacks in NYC, DC & PA.
2002: Economic: Nasdaq bottomed after a 76.81% drop.
2003: World: The U.S. invades Iraq.
2004: World: The U.S. launches an attack on Falluja.
2005: World: Hurricane Katrina
2006: World: Bird flu.
2007: Economic: Start of the Great Recession.
2008: Economic: Great Recession continues.
2009: Economic: S&P bottomed after a 56.8% drop.
2010: Market: Flash crash.
2011: Market: Occupy Wall Street and S&P downgrades U.S. Debt.
2012: Political: Fiscal cliff.
2013: Political: Taper tantrum.
2014: World: Ebola virus.
2015: World: Multiple mass shootings.
2016: Political: Divided U.S. Presidential election.
2017: World: North Korea testing nuclear weapons.
2018: Economic: U.S. & China trade war.
2019: Economic: Student loan debt reaches an all-time high of $1.4 trillion.
2020: World: COVID-19.

While many of these events were undoubtedly terrible (and there are certainly others not named here that were worse), most of these were broadcast as end-of-the-world events for the stock market. Despite that attention, it is worth noting that these were, for the most part, one-time events. In other words, most faded into the newspapers of history. We moved on.

Obviously, some caused monumental shifts in the way the world works. Just think about how much air travel continues to be impacted by the events of 9/11. But, outside of the resulting inconveniences (if we want to call safety protocols inconveniences) associated with air travel, flying is safer than ever before.

Take a look at just about any of the events and you will find there are many that people will hardly remember. My point here isn’t that these events are to be ignored or that they were easy to stomach at the time, but that they have become a distant memory.

I want to also make the point that we should expect these types of negative events. As investors, we know these types of crises, economic catastrophes, and global phenomena are going to happen.

But in almost all cases, here is what we can say in the next breath – this too shall pass.

Will there be legal, humanitarian, economic, or some other aid required as a result of these events? Almost certainly the answer is yes, but that doesn’t mean it they won’t eventually fade into history.

Lastly, what’s worth noting is how the market has performed over these last 50 years despite the continual advertisements of the world crashing down around us. On January 2, 1970, the Dow Jones stood at 809 and the S&P at 90 -> those are not typos. These same indexes have grown (not including dividends) to 26,387 and 3,232 respectively. Amazing, no?

Perhaps what gets overlooked more than anything else is what separates the above one-time negative events from the positive stories that go largely ignored over our lifetimes. And that is a story worth telling. See the companion post below:

Unheralded Positive Events Every Year Since 1970

Stay the Course,
Ashby

Retirement Field Guide Mission:

“To help 10 million people make better retirement decisions.”

If you would like to join us in achieving our mission, I hope you will consider sharing our site if you have found it helpful in your own retirement planning.

This post is not advice. Please see additional disclaimers.

The post Ends-of-the-World Every Year Since 1970 appeared first on Retirement Field Guide.

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By: Ashby Daniels, CFP®
Title: Ends-of-the-World Every Year Since 1970
Sourced From: retirementfieldguide.com/ends-of-the-world-every-year-since-1970/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ends-of-the-world-every-year-since-1970
Published Date: Tue, 04 Aug 2020 13:26:19 +0000

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Wildfire prone property insurance bill in California due for hearing

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August 14, 2020

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The post Wildfire prone property insurance bill in California due for hearing appeared first on Live Insurance News.

The bill is expected to be heard in upcoming weeks as opposing sites prepare for major battle.

A new California bill, the outcomes of which will have a lot to say about coverage for wildfire prone property in the state, will soon be headed for hearing. The hearing is expected to be a heated one as strong opposing opinions have the opportunity to be voiced.

Opponents of this bill are calling it a direct attack on consumer protections in insurance.

That said, proponents of the bill claim it is the best method for making coverage available to wildfire prone property in California. The bill in question is Assembly Bill 2167. It was written by Assemblyperson Tom Daly (D-Anaheim). If it passes,it will create the Insurance Market Action Plan (IMAP) program. The IMAP program is meant to protect residential properties.

So far, AB 2167 has progressed quickly, when taking into consideration that a chunk of the legislature has been considerably restricted by pandemic crisis precautions. It was first presented in early June and backers have been saying that it was brought forward in good timing and that it has all the momentum it needs to be passed.

That said, AB 2167 has not been without opposition. In fact, it has faced considerable opposition, having been called an attack on Proposition 103, insurance consumer protection law. California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara lobbed that argument at it, calling it an “insurance industry wish list, with nothing to help consumers,” and Consumer Watchdog, whose founder, Harvey Rosenfeld, was the original author of Proposition 103.

The insurance industry strongly supports the bill, saying it will help wildfire prone property coverage.

Insurance organizations such as the American Property Casualty Insurance Association and the Personal Insurance Federation both support AB 2167. The bill also has the support of the California Association of Counties (CSAC), as well as Fire Safe Councils of California, and the CalFIRE union.

The Consumer Federation of America, another watchdog organization, has predicted that if AB 2167 passes, it will cause 40 percent increases in insurance rates. On the other hand, insurance groups claim that the bill offers owners of wildfire prone property a greater opportunity for choice and competition among insurance companies based on coverage and premiums while avoiding the limitations and high costs associated with FAIR Plan coverage.

The post Wildfire prone property insurance bill in California due for hearing appeared first on Live Insurance News.

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By: Marc
Title: Wildfire prone property insurance bill in California due for hearing
Sourced From: www.liveinsurancenews.com/wildfire-prone-property-insurance-bill-in-california-due-for-hearing/8549884/
Published Date: Fri, 14 Aug 2020 09:00:14 +0000

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Is this the last hurrah for bonds?

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3 years ago

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August 13, 2020

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Recently, I have written quite a bit about the long-term return expectations for investing in bonds. See here, here, here and here.

Spoiler alert: I don’t think it’s good.

But long-term bonds this year have been quite an amazing story as the COVID pandemic has caused the Fed to take historically monumental actions. As a result, we’ve watched long-term Treasuries tear the roof off the market. For instance, a 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (name withheld for compliance purposes) is up more than 31% YTD as of July 31st.

That is insane!

But there is a good reason for this increase shown below.

The red circle shows a decrease in the 30-year Treasury rate of almost 40% over a span of six months. That’s practically unprecedented with only two periods (2008 and 1981-1982) having similar declines over such short periods.

But this begs the question: Is this the last hurrah for bonds as a driver of any meaningful return? Below is the 30-Year Treasury rate over the last 40+ years.

For what it’s worth, people have been forecasting the end of the bond bull market since 2012 (maybe even earlier) and yet it has continued despite those predictions. But at some point, the bond party will come to an end.

The Fed has been clear that they are going to keep rates stable until at least 2022 which means this may not change for a little while longer. Or in the near term, I could even see the high returns continuing if we experience pandemic economic shutdown round two.

But, I can’t see a world where this is the case for much longer than that – most importantly over the span of a 30-year retirement.

The official end of the bond bull market depends on a recovery from the pandemic economy as well as a few other factors causing rates to rise. But when they do, it seems likely to me that this may be the last great hurrah for bonds for quite some time.

The question is when to get off that train and that undoubtedly requires a personal answer.

Stay the Course,
Ashby

Retirement Field Guide Mission:

“To help 10 million people make better retirement decisions.”

If you would like to join us in achieving our mission, I hope you will consider sharing our site if you have found it helpful in your own retirement planning.

This post is not advice. Please see additional disclaimers.

The post Is this the last hurrah for bonds? appeared first on Retirement Field Guide.

—————–

By: Ashby Daniels, CFP®
Title: Is this the last hurrah for bonds?
Sourced From: retirementfieldguide.com/is-this-the-last-hurrah-for-bonds/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=is-this-the-last-hurrah-for-bonds
Published Date: Wed, 12 Aug 2020 13:47:16 +0000

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