Close up image of a caretaker helping older woman walk

The Missouri Senate has advanced a proposal to increase nursing home reimbursements.

State Sen. Dan Brown (R-Rolla) introduced a bill calling for reimbursement rates to be recalculated every year to adjust for fluctuating healthcare costs.

Calculations from a non-partisan legislative body show state payments could climb $35.5 million in 2019, $60 million in 2020 and more than $82 million by 2021, according to MissouriNet News. Federal contributions covering increased Medicaid reimbursements would total roughly $60 million in 2019 and more than $163 million in 2021, the website found.

Medicaid accounts for close to a third of the state’s $28 billion budget. The department has requested more than $8.5 billion from the state for its fiscal 2019 budget.

Brown, chair of the state Senate Appropriations Committee, has suggested some Missouri nursing homes would close if the reimbursement picture doesn’t improve.

The Senate must take a final vote on the measure before it can be sent to the House.