The House Health Care Policy Committee heard two abortion-related bills this week. HB 177, sponsored by Representative Andrew Koenig (R-Winchester), would require a physician (rather than a nurse, or other health care professional) to administer RU-486 to a patient in order to induce an abortion. In addition, prior to administering the drug, the physician must examine the patient 24 hours beforehand, document the gestational age of the child and whether an ectopic (tubal) pregnancy is present, and provide the patient with the FDA-approved labels for the drugs to be used, as well as comply with all other requirements of Missouri abortion law.

The bill is intended, in part, to prevent chemical abortions from being performed in Missouri through telemedicine, a practice that Planned Parenthood has started implementing in Iowa.

HB 298, sponsored by Representative Keith English (D-Florissant), would require that an ultrasound be provided to a woman 24 hours before she has an abortion. The majority of women who see an ultrasound image of their developing child choose life, even when they were considering an abortion

The MCC testified in support of both bills, arguing that both are reasonable requirements that would provide needed information to women facing crisis pregnancies.

Missouri Supreme Court Hears Case

Involving Death Benefits for Same-Sex Partners  

The surviving partner of a deceased police officer is seeking death benefits, which have been denied to him due to the definition of "spouse" in the Missouri law governing payment of survivor benefits. His attorney argued that the two men had a longstanding relationship, which should be honored by the grant of benefits to the survivor.

The case bears similarity to a case presently pending in the U.S. Supreme Court. In that case, the surviving female partner of a federal employee seeks Social Security Death Benefits denied to her due to the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage for purposes of federal law as the union of one man and one woman. Legal counsel for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops filed a friend of the court brief in support of DOMA, defending the traditional definition of marriage. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument on the case in March and is expected to rule in June.

Traditional marriage has been under attack in a number of states. The Missouri Constutition defines marriage as being between one man and one woman The MCC played a leading role in the passage of this Amendment. If the U.S. Supreme Court rules to recognize same-sex marriages, Missouri's Marriage Amendment will be null and void.  

Making sure that criminal justice procedures are as accurate as possible to prevent wrongful convictions is the purpose of a bill heard this week by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sponsored by Senator Joe Keaveny (D-St. Louis), SB 162 would establish uniform procedures to be used for eyewitness identification, jailhouse informant testimony, post-conviction DNA testing and procedures for custodial interrogations.

The reforms included in SB 162 were part of recommendations that came from a recent two-year study by an assessment team of Missouri judges, lawyers and law professors commissioned by the American Bar Association to examine the fairness and accuracy of the state's death penalty system.

Among the witnesses who testified in support of the bill was Kevin Green, a Mid-Missouri resident who spent 16 years in a California prison for a murder he did not commit. Green was convicted on the basis of faulty eye witness testimony. He was eventually exonerated by DNA evidence not available at the time of his conviction.

When testifying in support of the bill, the MCC noted that wrongful convictions do not bring justice to the victims of the crime or improve public safety in the community. The MCC urged that the common sense procedures in the bill be enacted.

The Judiciary Committee took no action on the bill.

This week the House Urban Issues Committee heard HB 443, a bill that would increase access for children to visit their incarcerated parents. Sponsored by Representative Penny Hubbard (D-St. Louis), the bill establishes a two-year pilot project to provide transportation to children from birth to 17 years of age to visit parents in four selected prisons. At the end of the two years, a report will be submitted to the Governor and Missouri General Assembly on the efficacy of the program.

When testifying in support of the bill, the MCC cited research showing that keeping children in contact with their incarcerated parents can have a positive effect on the child and can improve the successful re-entry of the parent back into society. It is estimated that approximately 40,000 children in Missouri have a parent incarcerated in prison.

The committee took no action on the bill.

A Missouri House committee this week rejected legislation (HB 627) that would have expanded Medicaid along the lines set out in the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA). Meanwhile, State Representative Jay Barnes (R-Jefferson City) introduced his own "Market-based Medicaid" proposal (HB 700).

The Barnes proposal is expected to be more popular with House members, but House Speaker Tim Jones (R-Eureka) said the bill is not likely to pass this year. The speaker said the House will look at the Medicaid issue but passing any legislation is at least a two-year project. Meanwhile, there has been little attention given to Medicaid expansion in the Missouri Senate.

Because of a U.S. Supreme Court decision last summer, states have the option of accepting or rejecting the federal dollars to expand Medicaid as proposed in the ACA. A number of states are seeking waivers from the federal government in order to enact their own version of the Medicaid expansion. The Barnes' bill would require several federal waivers in order to be implemented in Missouri.

The ACA would expand Medicaid to 138% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) for childless adults and parents. Currently no Medicaid health coverage is available for childless adults and, in Missouri, parents are only eligible with incomes up to 19% of FPL. The Barnes plan would provide coverage up to 100% of FPL, or $23,550 annually for a family of four.

The legislation would also eliminate health coverage for about 44,000 children now covered under the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which provides coverage for children not eligible for Medicaid who have household incomes between 100-300% of FPL.

The elimination of the CHIP coverage would only go into effect if and when these children became eligible for coverage through the newly created health insurance exchanges. Parents would receive a federal subsidy to help pay for the insurance premium. Under the existing CHIP programs parents with incomes between 100-150% of FPL are not required to pay a premium.

The Barnes bill also reduces Medicaid coverage for pregnant women from its current level of 185% of FPL to 133% of FPL. A bill (HB 716) filed by State Representative Jeff Grisamore (R-Lee's Summit) would offer health coverage to unborn children up to 300% of FPL through a separate CHIP program.

The MCC has not taken a position on any of the Medicaid related bills, but issued a statement setting out some broad recommendations for legislators to consider.

Many people work hard to provide for their families and have a hard time making ends meet. However, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a powerful benefit for those who work, because the credit simply puts money back into the pockets of those who need it the most.

The EITC has been successful at encouraging people, particularly single mothers, to work.

By claiming the credit nearly 27 million low-income individuals received about $59.5 billion in 2011, with refunds averaging $2,240, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Nationally, the EITC has helped an estimated 6.3 million people escape poverty in 2010, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The purpose of the credit is to offset taxes, supplement low wages and serve as an incentive to work. Eligible workers can pay fewer taxes, and some may even get a check from the IRS.

Families with three or more children may receive a credit of up to $5,891 for their 2012 taxes. The maximum credit is $5,236 for families with two children, $3,169 for families with one child and just $475 for those without children.