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Medical debt cited as chief cause of bankruptcy, as advocates urge legislators to expand Medicaid

The University of Missouri Children's Hospital inducted two new 'kid friendly' ambulances into its fleet.
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The University of Missouri Children's Hospital inducted two new 'kid friendly' ambulances into its fleet.

People and groups who work with Medicaid clients are urging Missouri lawmakers to expand coverage in next year’s state budget.

Cynthia Keele from the Missouri chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness told a State House budget subcommittee Tuesday that expanding Medicaid would help families dealing with medical debt: “Missouri medical debt is responsible for about 40 percent of the bankruptcies in Missouri," she said. "And I know that because I’m a banker’s wife…and those bankruptcies and medical debt kill jobs.”
Governor Jay Nixon announced last week his intention to expand Medicaid coverage to an additional 300,000 Missourians in his proposed state budget.  GOP leaders, including Lt. Governor Peter Kinder, say they will NOT allow that to happen.

Missouri Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a proud alumnus of the University of Mississippi (a.k.a., Ole Miss), and has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off the old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Mason, and their cat, Honey.
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