The Missouri General Assembly, Gov. Mike Parson and the Department of Social Services heard loud and clear from voters statewide in August 2020, when 53% of the state’s voters expanded Medicaid. Voters gave up to 275,000 more Missourians access to Medicaid. Voters gave adults ages 19 to 64 who are at or below 138% of the federal poverty level health care. Voters supported working-class people who are not paid enough to afford private health care, including mothers with children who struggle to cover everyday expenses – food, rent and utilities – other people take for granted. But the Republican-dominated Missouri House and Senate disregarded the public’s vote. The agenda for those state leaders has been to polish their conservative crowns by being stingy with funds for the poor and liberal with tax breaks for the rich. They had no intention of “wasting money” on some of the poorest people in the state, including those who live rural communities – such as Excelsior Springs,…