The big news out of Jefferson City last week involved Gov. Jay Nixon’s announcement of more budgetary cuts made in the face of declining state revenues.
As noted in a story for the CBT, the cuts included the elimination of hundreds of state government positions. But the restrictions totaling roughly $204 million also included cuts to several entities related to the University of Missouri-Columbia.
The most notable one, at least according to state Rep. Chris Kelly, D-Columbia, was a more than $3 million cut to the University of Missouri Hospital system. As the first-term lawmaker noted in my article for the St. Louis Beacon, the cut could have a big effect on rural Missourians.
“For rural health care, it is a significant problem,” Kelly said. “And it’s also a problem for the entire University of Missouri. When the University of Missouri cannot recover either fees or insurance payments or Medicaid or state dollars, the whole budget of the entire university suffers.”
Additionally, the governor announced a freeze to refurbishing state buildings, lowered some Medicaid reimbursements and put the brakes on grants for the Life Sciences Research Board.
Tags: budget cuts, chris kelly, jay nixon, missouriCategories: State Politics.
