State health care cuts are ‘morally reprehensible’

In 2005, Missouri’s Republican legislature cut health care to 400,000 Missourians. Some Missouri citizens, including children, have died and others, their families and communities are suffering physically, mentally and financially as a result. I personally know of several families who were suffering enough even before the program cuts. Two years later, those legislators revisited Medicaid and authorized restoring some services. In the 2008 session, Missouri Republicans failed to live up to this promise by refusing to fund the restoration of dental and vision coverage and opted instead to fund tax giveaways for the rich. One doesn’t need to be a genius in public health or economics to see that these decisions are financially inefficient as well as morally reprehensible. Obviously, legislators who apparently seek the demise of their poorest and most vulnerable constituents are neither intelligent nor ethical. Voters, please take note.