Tag: Marsha Haefner

House approves bipartisan collaborative effort to extend Medicaid coverage for postpartum substance abuse care

A bipartisan, collaborative effort to extend Medicaid benefits for postpartum substance abuse treatment has been approved by the Missouri House.

Representatives Marsha Haefner, Martha Stevens, Cora Faith Walker, and Jay Barnes (photos; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications – click for larger version)

House Bill 2280 extends MO HealthNet benefits for pregnant women who are receiving substance abuse treatment within 60 days of giving birth for up to 12 additional months.  Any participating woman must follow the treatment in order to benefit.

Bill sponsor Marsha Haefner (R-St. Louis) said extended treatment has been proven necessary for success.

“Opioid and substance abuse during pregnancy is on the rise, with opioid use during pregnancy mirroring that of the general population,” said Haefner.  “The current time offered for substance use disorder treatment, which is 60-days for these new moms, does not allow for enough treatment for most women to experience success with recovery.  If a new mom is doing well then loses support and treatment for her abuse she will often relapse.  Another risk of pulling treatment too soon is after a period of non-use, women experience an increased risk of overdosing because their tolerance is low.”

HB 2280 was combined with similar bills filed by Representatives Cora Faith Walker (D-St. Louis), Martha Stevens (D-Columbia), and Jay Barnes (R-Jefferson City).

Stevens told lawmakers she was glad that the bill will cover a full range of treatments.

She said that one thing that came out of the committee hearing on the bill was that, “new moms need not just substance use disorder treatment.  That we really need to have comprehensive, wrap-around services, and so I’m very pleased that this bill is full Medicaid coverage so that these new moms can get substance use disorder treatment, they can get mental health care, they can go see a primary doctor, and really support them that first year after giving birth.”

Representative Faith Walker commended the lawmakers involved in the legislation for the bipartisan effort that led to its passage.

“It is a very common sense, evidence-based approach to dealing with the opioid epidemic here in the State of Missouri and it will both save taxpayer dollars as well as save lives,” said Faith Walker.  “I want to encourage the body to look at this effort that was put forward by all the bill sponsors moving forward for the rest of the session.”

Representative Keith Frederick (R-Rolla) said the bill represents something the legislature should do to help the most vulnerable in the state.

“The bottom line is that if we have ladies that are pregnant and have the struggle of addiction, they are in a special, vulnerable situation, as is their child,” said Frederick.

The bill’s projected cost is more than $4-million dollars through 2021, but Haefner noted it would save the state money that would have gone to caring for children who could go to state care if their mothers aren’t afforded treatment, and other cost avoidance.  She said the budget the House is debating this week also includes money to pay for the projected costs to extend this coverage.

The bill has been sent to the Senate for its consideration.  If it becomes law, the state will have to seek a waiver from the federal government to allow for the program to be created and implemented.  Missouri would be the first state to seek such a waiver.

Haefner is hopeful the state could get an answer from the federal government by the beginning of 2019.

House endorses tougher penalties for crimes against law enforcement

The state House is close to proposing greater penalties for those who commit certain crimes against law enforcement officers.

Representative Marsha Haefner (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Representative Marsha Haefner (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

House Bill 57 aims to increase by one degree the penalty for voluntary or involuntary manslaughter, first- or second-degree property damage, unlawful use of a weapon, rioting, or first-degree trespassing, when those crimes are committed against a law enforcement officer.

It’s sponsored by St. Louis Republican Marsha Haefner, who said she hoped the bill would deter the committing of crimes against law enfrocment.

“It is intended to show meaningful and additional support for our officers across the state.  It is also to express the level of intolerance Missourians have for those who commit crimes against the very people who have taken an oath to protect and serve us and protect our property,” said Haefner.

Some Republicans expressed reservations about the proposal.  Cedar Hill Representative Shane Roden, a firefighter and reserve deputy sheriff, said he was not supportive of changes from an earlier version that would have increased penalties in crimes committed against other first responders, including firefighters.  He spoke of an attack on his wife, who was attacked in the back of an ambulance two years ago.

“Our men and women from the fire service, from the ambulance side of things, are just as likely to end up getting attacked as the first responders,” said Roden.

Roden attempted to change the bill to extend to all first responders, but his amendment was defeated.

Kansas City Democrat Brandon Ellington believes the House shouldn’t be debating this issue when he and many Democrats believe it hasn’t done enough to respond to the 2014 shooting by a Ferguson police officer of Michael Brown or the unrest that followed.

“We haven’t had one officer that’s been shot down in the street and left there for six hours.  Not one.  But we’ve had other people of other colors that’s been left in the streets for over six hours and we can’t work on any kind of accountability legislation,” said Ellington.  “The only thing we want to do is give increased protections to those that aren’t in jeopardy.”

St. Charles Republican Kathie Conway is married to a retired police officer.  She said the bill would reinforce the legislature’s commitment to law enforcement.

“It’s not that the people that were out there ten or twelve years ago are any more dangerous, it’s that they are emboldened,” said Conway.  “I don’t remember the last time, before the incident in New York, that people walked up and shot two officers sitting in a squad car.  I don’t remember a time before when a peaceful march was taking place in Dallas and someone opened fire only to kill police officers.”

Representatives Brandon Ellington (left) and Bruce Franks, Jr. (right) stand on either side of Representative Tommie Pierson, Jr. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Representatives Brandon Ellington (left) and Bruce Franks, Jr. (right) stand on either side of Representative Tommie Pierson, Jr. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

St. Louis City Democrat Bruce Franks, Junior, cited two of his family members who were law enforcement officers that were shot and killed.  He said for that and other reasons, it is difficult to oppose House Bill 57.

“You never want anybody to think that you don’t care about law enforcement or you don’t feel that law enforcement should be protected each and every day and they shouldn’t return home.  That’s not my objective and that’s not where my heart is,” said Franks.  “We have measures in place … to put more into that, it doesn’t deter.  It won’t keep officers safe.  Nobody’s going to think about the fact that they have this enhanced penalty in the back of their head when they go do something horrendous to an officer, which is sad, but when somebody makes that decision, they’ve already made that decision.”

Kimberling City Republican Don Phillips, a retired Highway Patrol trooper, said he has no problem with the bill treating law enforcement like they are special.

“I can tell you when you get up in the morning and you get ready to go to work and the first thing you do is strap on a bullet proof vest, you strap on a – in my case – a .40-calibur Glock automatic and put 47 rounds of ammunition around your waist, you’ve got handcuffs with you, you’ve got an expandable baton, you’ve got another baton in your car, you’ve got a 12-gauge shotgun that’s loaded for riot situations if it comes down to that, you’ve got pepper mace, Mister Speaker when those are the tools of your trade, you’re not a normal citizen.  You’re a special person in society.  You’re a person that represents our law and order,” said Phillips.

The House also gave initial approval to House Bills 302 and 228, which would create a Blue Alert System.  It would be meant to help identify, find, and apprehend anyone suspected of seriously injuring or killing a law enforcement officer.  The system would send out messages over television and radio about those suspected of such crimes.

House Bills 302, 228, and 57 all need one more favorable vote to be sent to the state Senate.