Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder spoke in a closed-door meeting to the Republican caucus Jan. 11 about the cost of federal health care legislation, Republican Senate leadership said.

Kinder sent a letter to Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon saying the legislation would bankrupt the state.

Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph, said, “it would be devastating on our state budget.”

Senate Minority Leader Victor Callahan, D-Jackson County, stressed caution before making judgments based on a bill that has not yet been passed through the U.S. Congress.

“The problem is, what does the federal health care bill look like?” Callahan asked. “We should take a look at it when the federal government passes it, when the House and Senate pass it.”

One version of health care legislation currently being considered by the U.S. Congress would increase the number of people eligible for Medicaid. Medicaid programs are funded by states that receive a portion of the money back in the form of federal matching funds, according to the U.S. Health and Human Services Department.

Senate Majority Leader Kevin Engler, R-Farmington, described the proposed health care legislation as “the biggest unfunded mandate that’s ever been sent to the states.”