Medicaid cuts draw more angry protests.

April 27, 2005
By: Sharon Delgaudio
State Capital Bureau

Eight people in wheelchairs chained themselves to the door of the House chamber to protest Gov. Blunt's Medicaid cuts.

Sharon Delgaudio has more from the state capitol.

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Hundreds came to protest a bill Gov. Blunt signed removing the requirement that the state fund wheelchairs.

One budget option open to legislators would leave this funding near its current levels at least for the coming year.

After that, there's no guarentee.

While police watched, protesters blocked one door to the House chamber.

No arrests were made.

Meanwhile, the House session continued with only a brief mention of the protesters' presence.

Repulican Rep. Jim Avery of St. Louis County responded to questions about the affect of Medicaid cuts on those in wheelchairs.

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"If these people did any research, I think they would find that they're not even affected.

Ya know, right now we're 1 in 5 people on Medicaid.

We have more people on Medicaid than we do in education."

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The protesters left without obtaining the meeting with Gov. Blunt they had demanded.

From the state capitol, I'm Sharon Delgaudio.


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