JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – About one-fourth of all people receiving in-home care services through Missouri Medicaid could be dropped from the program under a budget plan by Gov. Eric Greitens.

The proposed eligibility changes were included as a cost-cutting measure in the $27.6 billion budget that Greitens released Thursday.
The state budget office said Friday that about 80,000 people receive in-home care services through Medicaid. Acting state budget director Dan Haug has said more than 20,000 of those could lose service under the proposal.

Missouri determines eligibility according to a rating scale of a person’s needs. The proposed change would require people to show a greater level of disability to qualify for in-home care.

Haug says the rating change also would be used to determine new admissions to nursing homes.