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HEALTHCARE COVERAGE FOR MISSOURIANS

As I knock on doors and ask voters in my district about their concerns, healthcare is always near the top of the list. Missourians are worried about the cost of their own healthcare, and concerned about those who are falling through our dwindling safety net.

Heathcare is a necessity — not a luxury — for a productive population and a strong economy. Our goal as a society, and my goal as your state representative, must be to design a plan that takes the best of our modern medical system and extends it to cover those who are now without health insurance. Our first priority must be our children. Our second priority is to provide healthcare access to those least able to care for themselves — in ways that are financially sustainable, that encourage self-sufficiency, and that maximize workforce participation.

Approximately 170,000 Missourians have been cut from Medicaid since 2005, of whom about 69,000 were children. While Republicans argue that these cuts were economically rational — to save money — they fail to mention that every dollar that Missouri eliminated from Medicaid resulted in about a two dollar cut in the Medicaid match from the federal government. In other words, federal money that Missouri would have received had Missouri not cut its programs instead went to states that broadened their healthcare coverage. These cuts not only hurt our most vulnerable citizens — but they also cost our economy approximately one billion dollars in lost federal revenue.

Not only is this poor economic management, it is wrong — morally wrong. Government’s role must be to protect society’s most vulnerable. It’s the legislature’s job to craft a fiscally responsible way to achieve this goal.

I won’t pretend that I have easy answers for Missouri’s healthcare dilemma. We cannot solve a national problem on the state level. But we can at least take steps that move Missouri in the right direction. We must move:
  • toward including people rather than excluding them in health care coverage,
  • toward providing preventive care and health education,
  • toward guaranteeing coverage for all children,
  • toward providing basic dental and vision care,
  • toward providing equal coverage for mental and physical health,
  • toward taking advantage of available federal dollars.

Providing coverage for the uninsured has a cost — but we must remember that providing care for the uninsured — often in the emergency room and often after a routine, easily treatable illness has become acute — often costs far more. Those with insurance are then forced to absorb this cost through higher premiums and increased out-of-pocket expenses.

The bottom line ... We face a very difficult task, but ignoring the problem is not an option.  We can take steps toward universal health coverage, cautiously and prudently.  Quick solutions aren’t likely, but as your state legislator, you can count on me to move the ball toward the goal.
Chris Kelly... Your Voice in Jefferson City
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