A Sales Tax on Doctor Visits and Medicine? In Missouri, Some Worry By Bram Sable-Smith July 16, 2026

https://kffhealthnews.org/health-care-costs/sales-tax-healthcare-services-missouri-state-amendment-revenue/ ST. LOUIS — Missouri healthcare advocate Leslie Ortbals and her husband want to start a family, but she worries they can’t afford it. The 27-year-old said she takes 10 medications daily to manage multiple chronic illnesses. A ballot measure to eliminate Missouri’s income tax would give the state legislature broad authority to levy new sales taxes to replace the lost revenue. Critics say that could mean adding a sales tax on medical services or prescription medicines. Those types of taxes are unusual, but not unheard of, in the U.S.