Website | E-Mail Me| Newsroom | Subscribe | Unsubscribe
January
Keaveny Connection		 Contact: Stacy Morse
(573) 751-3599

Veterans Affected Without Medicaid Expansion

Open Enrollment in Health Insurance Marketplace

Missouri's Minimum Wage Increases

 

Tax-Free Savings Accounts for Adults with Disabilities

How to Reach My Capitol Office
Veterans Affected Without Medicaid Expansion
More than 50,000 veterans and their families cannot afford health care; almost half would gain coverage through Medicaid expansion or reform.

The absence of a Medicaid coverage fix has affected thousands of people throughout Missouri. Until the General Assembly is able to reach a compromise, there are also 451 veterans from the 4th Senatorial District who would gain life-saving health coverage should we pass some type of Medicaid reform during this legislative session.

There are more than 50,000 veterans and their family members who cannot afford health care. Nearly half of those veterans would gain health care coverage with Medicaid expansion or reform. The very people who have stood to defend our country, we are unable or un-willing to protect at home.

Medicaid expansion is one of the most urgent issues facing the Legislature, yet for the last two years, we’ve failed to have a serious discussion on the Senate floor about ways to extend health care coverage to the hundreds of thousands of Missourians currently going without. This has to change. We can no longer ignore what the General Assembly’s lack-of-action is doing to the citizens of our state.

According to the October 2014 report from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, among states expanding Medicaid, enrollment in Medicaid/CHIP rose by more than 24 percent. In non-expansion states, it only grew by about 7 percent. In Missouri, however, the rate of growth is the third lowest in the country. In fact, it’s actually fallen from the year before.

It’s time to listen to the people of our state, and find a way to extend health care coverage to Missouri’s hard-working citizens, including its veterans. Medicaid expansion is one of the single greatest actions we could take to better the lives of thousands of Missourians. That is a rare opportunity, and not one that should be so quickly dismissed. We need to look past the partisanship that has always surrounded the Affordable Care Act and examine the actual facts, which overwhelmingly point to the benefits expansion would bring. In the past, the Legislature has looked past its differences to do what’s right. I hope that in the coming months, we can take that same approach to Medicaid expansion.

Open Enrollment in the Health Insurance Marketplace
Get help signing up for the Health Insurance Marketplace by calling 1-800-318-2596.

Open enrollment for health care coverage runs through February 15, 2015.  There are several ways to learn more about the ACA or the federal Health Insurance Marketplace:

Cover Missouri: Helping Missourians Find Affordable Health Insurance

Cover Missouri is a Coalition of community organizations from around Missouri that are dedicated to helping consumers understand their insurance options. Coalition members include Navigators and Certified Application Counselors (CAC), who can assist you to:

  • Understand and navigate new health insurance rules and requirements;
  • Understand health insurance basics;
  • Research and understand ways to help pay for health insurance;
  • Understand the Missouri Health Insurance Marketplace, rules and restrictions; and
  • Help understand where and how to purchase insurance.

There are no fees to use the marketplace or to receive help from a Navigator or CAC. No one should solicit health coverage to you. Here is a checklist of information you will need when you sign up:

  • Social Security Numbers (or document numbers for legal immigrants);
  • Employer and income information for every member of your household who needs coverage (for example, from pay stubs or W-2 forms—Wage and Tax Statements); and
  • Policy numbers for any current health insurance plans covering members of your household.
Missouri's Minimum Wage Increases
Missouri's minimum wage increased to $7.65 on January 1, 2015.

Missouri's standard minimum wage increased by 15 cents to $7.65 an hour on Jan. 1. For tipped workers, the increase is 9 cents, bringing it to $3.83 per hour. The change was announced by the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations on Nov. 8.

By state law, the minimum wage rate is calculated once a year and may increase or decrease based on the cost of living, which is measured by the previous year's Consumer Price Index. This ensures that as the cost of products and services go up—which we've seen over the last few years—the wage keeps pace so these workers can continue providing for themselves and their families.

According to the National Employment Law Project, Missouri is one of 19 other states that raised their minimum wage on Jan. 1, 2015. The change will boost the pay for 136,000 Missourians.

During recent sessions, there have been attempts to change Missouri law so that our minimum wage matches that of the federal, which would overwhelmingly affect the lowest paid workers in the state. These individuals are already trying to scrape by on a wage that still places them in the poverty level, even working full-time.

I've staunchly opposed those efforts, and will continue to do so. Not only would it negatively affects hundreds of thousands of Missourians, it's also counterproductive to other legislators' attempts to encourage economic development. Study after study shows that when low-income workers make more money, they almost immediately inject it back into the economy, increasing supply and demand, a key underlying principal of economics, versus high-wage earners, who tend to save the money. If anything, we need to be finding ways to help individuals currently stuck in the cycle of working paycheck-to-paycheck, not further slashing their wages.

Tax-Free Savings Accounts for Adults with Disabilities

Last week, Congress passed a bill extending dozens of temporary tax breaks for 2014. They were set to expire, but legislators in Washington managed to get the measure to the president’s desk before adjourning. These tax breaks include deductions for teachers’ expenses, mortgage insurance premiums and tuition, among others.

The bill also contained the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act, a federal effort to help adults with disabilities invest in savings accounts without jeopardizing their assistance benefits, such as Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income.

Under ABLE, individuals with disabilities, who were diagnosed as such before the age of 26, would be able to contribute up to $14,000 annually into an account. Earnings would not be taxed, and friends and families would be able to contribute into the fund as well. Most importantly, the ABLE account does not affect one’s eligibility for federal assistance as long as money is used for housing, transportation, education, and wellness.

I was happy to see Congress pass this legislation and finally acknowledge that we must do more to help create economic stability for adults with disabilities. By creating a tax-free account, these citizens and their families can invest in long-term savings and the peace of mind that brings.

For more information, visit the Internal Revenue Services’ website at www.irs.gov.

How to Reach My Capitol Office
My office is now located in room 333 at the Missouri Capitol.

Given my new position as Minority Floor Leader, my office moved and I want to ensure that the citizens of the 4th District can always reach me.

I am now located in Room 333 of our beautiful Capitol Building.

The rest of our contact information remains the same. You can call us at
(573) 751-3599 or toll-free at (866) 783-1534.

I can be reached by e-mail at Joe. Keaveny@senate.mo.gov. The latest news in my office is posted through press releases, columns and more, and can all be found at www.senate.mo.gov/keaveny.