BY: STEPH QUINN
Missouri Independent
Josh Moore is the new director of MO HealthNet Division, taking over the agency that administers Missouri’s Medicaid program, according to a press release from the state’s social services department Wednesday.
Moore, who has served since 2019 as MO HealthNet’s pharmacy director, succeeds Todd Richardson, the former Missouri House speaker who resigned from his role in October after seven years in the job.
Moore’s appointment comes as MO HealthNet and the state’s social services department prepare to implement Medicaid eligibility changes passed by Congress in July as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill. Work requirements and twice-yearly eligibility recertifications beginning in 2027 could cause 130,000 of the 1.25 million Missourians currently on Medicaid to lose coverage, according to one Princeton University estimate.
Gov. Mike Kehoe and Jess Bax, director of the department, praised Moore’s experience in the press release and emphasized a need for MO HealthNet’s sustainability.
“With his experience and proven leadership,” Kehoe said, “we are confident he will strengthen access, improve outcomes and ensure the program’s long-term sustainability.”
Bax said Moore’s policy expertise and “leadership across state and federal partners” will “strengthen healthcare access statewide while better serving our most vulnerable populations.”
The new federal requirements are expected to come with over $900 billion in cuts to Medicaid nationwide over the next decade. Missouri could lose 14% of its federal Medicaid funding, somewhere between $11 and $18 billion over 10 years, according to KFF.
As pharmacy director, Moore’s responsibilities included developing policies for drug reimbursement and criteria for doctors to approve medications for prior authorization.
Moore’s tenure as pharmacy director has seen state efforts to provide alternatives to opioids in pain management, the COVID-19 pandemic and the introduction of GLP-1 therapies in obesity care. In October, Moore presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy Nexus on the potential for GLP-1s to reduce heart attacks, surgeries and emergency room visits in the long term.
He has also served on Missouri’s Psychotropic Medication Advisory Committee, which advises the department on the use of these medications for youth in foster care.
Moore said he is “honored to serve Missouri in this role.”
“I look forward to working with our dedicated team, partners and stakeholders,” he said, “to strengthen access to care, ensure fiscal stewardship and improve health outcomes for Missourians who rely on the state’s Medicaid program.”