State Senator Doug Beck Co-Sponsors ‘Clean FRA’ Bill on First Day of Extra Session
JEFFERSON CITY — State Sen. Doug Beck, D-St. Louis, has co-sponsored a measure to extend Missouri’s Federal Reimbursement Allowance (FRA) as a stand-alone bill. The proposal, referred to as “Clean FRA,” contains no provisions to prohibit providers from prescribing birth control or women receiving MO HealthNet benefits from accessing contraception. The bill is meant to be a noncontroversial avenue to leverage billions of matching federal dollars to help subsidize MO HealthNet, or Medicaid.
“I do not support banning birth control for women on Medicaid, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting a ‘Clean FRA’ to protect billions of dollars in health care funding,” Sen. Beck said. “The health and well-being of Missourians should never be used for partisan games — a clean FRA puts people first.”
The governor called an extra session after the General Assembly failed to pass the FRA bill during the regular session. Under current state law, the FRA sunsets every year unless the Missouri Legislature votes to extend it. The language in the “Clean FRA” mirrors the legislation passed the last three years and extends the sunset clause for five years. In FY 2020, Missouri’s FRA program generated $1.59 billion in General Revenue and an additional $3.07 billion in federal matching funds for Missouri’s Medicaid program. By not passing a “Clean FRA,” Missouri could miss out on more than $4.6 billion in funding for the state’s Medicaid program.
For more information about Sen. Beck’s legislation, please visit senate.mo.gov/beck.
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