31 Jul Medicaid, Voting & Get to Know Us
Welcome to the Newsletter
Rana Law Group Newsletter
In this issue:
- August 4th Election – Missouri
- Information About Voting in November
- Get to Know Us
August 4th Election – Missouri
According to the Missouri SOS, we have a primary election on August 4, 2020. In addition to deciding who will be on the ballot in November for state and local offices, voters will decide whether Missouri adopts Medicaid Expansion (Constitutional Amendment No 2). As is tradition, I provide my non-partisan review of ballot measures.
Constitutional Amendment No 2: Missouri is one of only 13 states that has not adopted the measure. This would apply to individuals making less than 133% of the federal poverty level. For example, families of four making less than $34,248 or individuals that earn less than $16,612 would have greater access to healthcare benefits. Under the rules of the Affordable Care Act, the federal government would be responsible for 90% of the expansion costs, while Missouri would be responsible for 10%.
Arguments for Adoption (Voting Yes):
- It is estimated that 230,000 individuals will qualify for expanded access to healthcare based on the income restrictions.
- Many of these individuals live in rural areas. Unfortunately, these areas have had nine hospital closures since 2014. Passage may increase rural healthcare access for preventative and emergency care.
- Approximately one billion dollars in federal funds will come back to the State of Missouri and may lead to more healthcare jobs around the state.
Arguments against Adoption (Voting No):
- Expansion may increase state spending on healthcare. Opponents claim there is always the risk the federal government may not make good on its promise to pay 90% at some point in the future.
- The 230,000 individuals that would now apply would increase competition for access to doctors for those already enrolled in the program.
Information About Voting in November
The Missouri legislature passed a bill expanding voting options for the year 2020 for both mail-in and absentee ballots. There is a clear distinction in Missouri between the two with regards to notarization and the method in which they must be returned. For either ballot, it is very important to remember that if the ballot is not returned by the election deadline, the ballot will not be counted. There is a lot of confusion around absentee vs. mail-in ballots. If you need help, please contact us.
Application forms for a mail-in or absentee ballot for the November 3, 2020, General Election will be available on the Secretary of State’s website on August 18, 2020. The deadline to request an absentee ballot is October 21, 2020. For more information about voting, including getting registered, go here.
Absentee Ballots: you may be eligible for returning your absentee ballot at various polling sites before Election Day. They typically also have a notary on site, but we have several notaries at the office and do not charge a fee. In fact, charging a fee to notarize a ballot is not permitted!
Mail-In Ballots: if you check this box, you MUST mail in your ballot. The postmaster general recently issued a memo about delivery delays due to budgetary constraints so please factor that into whether you choose to mail the ballot. If mailing, this does not mean ‘postmarked‘ by election day; rather, the ballot must arrive by election day.
Get to Know Us
We wanted to keep the “fun” section short since the topics above are so dense. Do you have any questions for us? Sarah and I thought it would be fun for our wonderful readers to send in questions so you can get to know us better. We will answer the questions in next month’s newsletter. As always, thanks for reading!
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