Missouri budget deal may be unraveling

May 08--JEFFERSON CITY -- A plan approved last week by the Missouri Senate to spare nearly 8,000 elderly and disabled residents from losing their state-paid health insurance may be sputtering in the House.

The chairman of the House budget committee Monday said the Senate bailout in its current form cannot move forward because of the way it is structured.

Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick, R-Shell Knob, said the plan to use excess money in a number of special state accounts to help avert cuts needs additional work before it could be put in place. And, with the Legislature operating under a Friday deadline to finish its work for the year, that could mean the proposal fizzles.

"Never say never," Fitzpatrick said, describing the future of the fund sweep as a work in progress.

His words of caution set off a scramble in the Senate, which moved Monday to try to resuscitate the deal. Although the changes approved on a 27-5 vote were largely technical, supporters hope they help the measure pass muster in the House.

"I think that what you've done here is largely technical in nature, but I think it makes the path smoother," said Sen. Ryan Silvey, R-Kansas City.

At issue was a deal struck in the Senate Thursday that would spare cuts to low-income elderly and disabled residents who would be affected by a tightening of eligibility rules for certain Medicaid services, such as nursing home and in-home care programs.

The maneuver also would keep intact a tax credit affecting another 100,000 elderly renters.

The bipartisan agreement would raid a number of special state funds for an estimated $35 million to fill a gap that opponents said would hurt the state's most vulnerable population.

After it was approved on a 28-5 vote, it won accolades from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

"Although the state budget is far from perfect, we are making a record investment in public schools while preventing many of the draconian cuts proposed by the Governor and Republican majority to Missouri's most vulnerable populations," said Senate Minority Leader Gina Walsh, D-Bellefontaine Neighbors.

However, Fitzpatrick said in addition to ensuring the state can legally sweep the funds and then place the revenue in an account earmarked specifically for senior citizens, the money for the bailout would only last for one fiscal year.

"It's a one-time solution to an ongoing problem," Fitzpatrick said.

Some of the opponents of the sweeps said that's enough of a reason to torpedo the deal.

"We won't be able to sweep these funds year after year," said Sen. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph.

"It's certainly not ideal," Silvey acknowledged.

In addition to concerns coming from the House, it remains unclear how Gov. Eric Greitens feels about the 11th-hour deal-making that helped deliver a budget plan to his desk by Friday's deadline.

The governor's office has not responded to multiple requests for comment on the $27.8 billion spending blueprint.

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