MOScout Daily Update: FRA Pool Shrinks - HRCC $$$ - Reps Pushback Against Vax Event - Evans To Lead MO AFC and more...

FRA Pooling Shrinks

Word is that Truman Medical System is leaving the FRA pool.  The move itself is not catastrophic, but it does hint at a longer-term danger to the FRA tax which underpins the funding of Missouri’s Medicaid program.

All Missouri hospitals pay the FRA tax.  The federal government then sends matching dollars to Missouri.  Without the tax Missouri’s Medicaid program wouldn’t be solvent.

The Missouri Hospital Association administers a “pool” of proceeds from the tax and the federal match.  It distributes the proceeds in an effort to “smooth” the various levels hospitals would receive.

This results in “contributor” systems and “debtor” systems.  That is, some would receive more funds back with they weren’t a member of the pool.  They remain in the pool in order to “share the wealth” and keep all the systems invested in the framework

Truman is the latest system to decide they’re better off exiting the pool.  SSM Health had previously left the pool.

One lobbyist expressed surprise at the move coming just “after the governor and several legislators including leadership stuck their neck out to get a three-year renewal in a contentious special session.”  He also predicted it’s “only a matter of time before the dominoes fall and others bail.”

The problem, longer term, for Missouri is that if the pool dissolves there will be hospitals that won’t have any incentive to pay the FRA tax. 

And the erosion of political support for that tax could be catastrophic for Missouri’s budget.

HRCC $$$

In the large contributions today (below) see the checks gathered at the House Republican Campaign Committee’s summer caucus.  It looks like about a quarter-million dollars from these checks alone.

·         Leading the pack, $35,000 from speaker-in-waiting Dean Plocher’s PAC, Missouri United.

Evans Takes AFC Lead

Press Release: The American Federation for Children welcomes Jean Evans as our new Missouri State Lead. Earlier this year, Missouri created a $25 million Education Savings Account program that provides eligible students $6,350 for educational expenses to attend the public, charter, virtual, private, or home school of their choice. Evans will lead the efforts of the Missouri Federation for Children to make families across the state aware of this new educational option.

Evans, former Republican state rep from a district that flipped blue after she left, is strong choice to help AFC navigate the sometimes tricky cross-currents of the school choice movement in Missouri.  It’s a policy issue which doesn’t adhere to strict partisan lines.

And she’ll guide MO AFC’s political giving in the upcoming cycle.  In 2020, they contributed over $550,000 to Missouri campaigns. 

The largest three recipients…

·         $245,000 to Missouri Senate Campaign Committee

·         $198,000 to House Republican Campaign Committee

·         $50,000 to Andrew Koenig’s Freedom’s Promise PAC

Reps Pushback on Vax Event

On Facebook, Rep. Peter Merideth shares an email chain between state representatives.  See it here.

·         It starts with a staff announcement of a vaccination event to be held at the capitol later this month. 

·         Rep. Brian Seitz replied with the insinuation that vaccines are the cause of the outbreak… As we see more ‘vaccinated’ people GETTING the virus (upper respiratory viruses, which this is, are prevalent in the Winter months, not Summer) I hope we are not actually creating and extending a problem. Government should stay out of the jab business.

·         Rep. Keri Ingle’s response started with a sarcastic “Hey Dr. Seitz…”

·         Rep. Justin Hill joined in saying he has “two family members with enlarged hearts from the vaccine.” 

·         Merideth comments, “With a couple hundred total reported circumstances of inflamed hearts out of 12 million vaccines administered, and no conclusive evidence they were caused by the vaccines, forgive me if I find this claim hard to believe.”

And

In another unsettling sign of our times, three of Missouri’s five US Senate candidates wouldn’t say if they’ve been vaccinated. 

Vaccination – a cornerstone of modern medicine – is now a potential sign of being too liberal?? It used to be the hippie-dippies who shunned mankind’s domination over the natural world. It’s a topsy-turvy world. 

Jack Suntrup reports that Eric Greitens and Eric Schmitt didn’t respond to the question, while Mark McCloskey’s response was that he wouldn’t tell.  Huh?

The Congressionals (Billy Long and Vicky Hartzler) did say they’d been vaccinated and that other should. And that’s now some act of political courage?  I don’t know folks…

New Committees

Citizens for a Prosperous Missouri was formed.  It’s a PAC.  Its treasurer is Arthur 'Art' E Bottorff.

Lobbyists Registrations

Spencer Hawes added ShiftKey.

$5K+ Contributions

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $35,000 from Missouri United (pro-Plocher PAC).

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $20,000 from HealthPAC.

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $15,000 from Dealers Interested In Government.

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $15,000 from Ameren Missouri.

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $15,000 from J&J Ventures Gaming.

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $15,000 from Lathrop Gage Consulting PAC.

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $15,000 from CRH Americas Materials Inc.

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $15,000 from Xcaliber International.

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $11,000 from Committee to Elect Houx.

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $10,000 from Golden Entertainent.

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $7,500 from Kansas City Chiefs Football Club.

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $7,500 from MOSFA PAC Inc.

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $7,100 from Friends of Rob Vescovo.

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $7,000 from Committee to Elect Ben Baker.

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $7,000 from Citizens to Elect Doug Richey.

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $6,850 from Friends of Hannah Kelly.

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $6,000 from Numinar Analytics.

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $5,825 from Missourians for Shields.

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $5,470 from Committee to Elect Bishop Davidson.

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $5,200 from Henderson for Missouri.

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $5,175 from Sharpe for Rep.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Cheryl Dozier, Gary Nodler, Jason Grill, Mindy Mazur, and Jerry Hobbs.