Governor Parson fixes glitch, ensuring youth aged out of foster care retain health insurance

Governor Mike Parson signed HB 397 and SB 514. Both bills fixed an oversight in the Affordable Care Act related to youth formerly in foster care. One of the most popular provisions of the Affordable Care Act is the ability for children to stay on their parents’ health insurance until they turn 26.

“I want the same things for children who’ve been in foster care that I want for my own children,” state senator David Sater (R-Cassville).  “My kids wouldn’t lose coverage; older youth who’ve experienced abuse and neglect shouldn’t lose coverage, either.”

The ACA allows children that aged out of the foster care system at 18 to remain on Medicaid until they are 26 years old. However, the language passed in the ACA only required a state to provide Medicaid to that individual if they aged out of that specific foster system. Currently, if a youth aged out of Illinois’s foster system but moved to Missouri to work, they are not allowed to maintain their public insurance in Missouri.

“I am very glad that we were able to close this loophole and allow the out of state foster care children the opportunity for healthcare coverage,” said Representative David Wood (R-Versailles). “There are a lot of challenges facing youth aging out of foster care and having healthcare coverage takes some of the issues away.”

Research has shown that access to health care for youth previously in foster care is important because they are more likely to have health complications. Ensuring these youth remain insured helps the broader community by keeping them out of crisis that could lead to emergency room visits or hospitalizations.

“We are thankful for the legislature’s work to ensure that youth exiting foster care who may have needed to move from another state are not excluded from the same benefit provided to those who remain in Missouri,” said Craig Stevenson, director of policy and advocacy at Kids Win Missouri.

In the fall of 2018, Congress passed and President Trump signed into law a federal fix to this provision within the ACA, but it will not take effect until January 1, 2023. These former foster youth in Missouri will be able to access Medicaid beginning August 28, 2019, when the bill takes effect.