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Disagreement about location, format, stall Medicaid hearing planned between Republicans, Nixon

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A meeting between Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon and Republican lawmakers tasked with exploring the transformation and expansion of Medicaid appears to have stalled, with both sides citing a disagreement about the location and format of the meeting as the primary cause.

Earlier this month, Nixon invited Rep. Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City and Sen. Gary Romine, R-Farmington, to a meeting to discuss the expansion and reform of Medicaid, perhaps the most hot-button political issue in the state.

As the Chairmen of House and Senate committee’s on Medicaid transformation, Barnes and Romine initially agreed to the meeting, and both sides hailed the tentative agreement as a positive step toward negotiations on the issue. But when Barnes and Romine co-authored a letter, sent today, laying out the format they desired for the meeting, Nixon issued a quick and harshly worded rebuke, cancelling the meeting and accusing both lawmakers of putting “politics precedence over the substance of the discussion.”

Sen. Gary Romnine
Sen. Gary Romnine

Nixon’s original Nov. 5 invitation suggests the Governor’s Office Building in Jefferson City as the location, but doesn’t specify a format, but his office contends that both men gave “good faith” agreements to his staff on the “form and content” of the meeting, and that the letter today represented that both men had “reneged” on the agreement. Romine says he never agreed to a particular format to the meeting, only the time and date, and that he was “extremely disappointed,” to read Nixon’s words.

“There was never a discussion of format when we agreed to have a meeting,” Romine said. “We worked very hard, and [Barnes] worked even longer than I did, to pull together all of this information and we’re sincerely interested in dealing with Medicaid reform. You don’t put this much time and effort into something to play games with it. So for the Governor to say we are playing politics or something, that’s just very upsetting to me.”

In the letter they wrote, Barnes and Romine wanted the meeting to take place in the Capitol before a joint hearing of their respective committee’s. In their letter, Romine and Barnes essentially call on Nixon to testify just as any witness would before the body. He would first be allowed to deliver prepared remarks or a presentation before remaining to answer questions from lawmakers.

Gov. Jay Nixon
Gov. Jay Nixon

“In the context of what we were trying to accomplished, I think this is pretty appropriate and I was sincerely surprised at [Nixon’s] response,” Romine said. “We’ve had many of our discussion in hearing rooms here in the capitol and any bill on this issue will begin in the legislative process, we really feel like it’s appropriate to hold this meeting within that context.”

Romine said he was willing to consider a meeting if there were assurances that a “substantive question-and-answer” process could take place

Rep. Barnes could not be immediately reached for comment.