GERSTER, Mo. - Gary Ruckel, like most rural Missourians, backed Matt Blunt for governor last fall and voted other Republicans into legislative seats.
Ruckel agreed with Blunt on issues such as gun control and gay marriage, but he was not considering a subject that hit much closer to home: medical care.
So when Blunt proposed cuts in Medicaid last month that could cost Ruckel and his wife, Vivian Ruckel, some services, the couple had second thoughts about backing Republicans.
"It kind of jumps back and kicks you in the teeth, is what it does, because I wasn't planning on this," said Ruckel, who lives about 50 miles north of Springfield. "If they cut back on Medicaid, it's going to crucify us, because we don't make that much."
Ruckel's story is familiar in rural Missouri. More than half of Medicaid recipients in Missouri live outside the Kansas City and the St. Louis areas.
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Ruckel and his wife, both 64, said they were among those in need. Ruckel, a former police officer and prison guard, has emphysema, arthritis, a spinal defect and other ailments. His wife is in worse shape, suffering heart and lung ailments, and kidney disease. She tires quickly and cannot do much outside the home. Ruckel is on nine medications; his wife is on 21.
With a combined income of $1,357 a month, mostly from Social Security, they qualify for full payment of medical and pharmacy bills through Medicaid. Both are classified as workers with disabilities because Ruckel works on lawn mowers and his wife does sewing, making about $60 a month combined, he said.
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http://www.tilrc.org/docs/0205mocuts.htm