Uninsured in Missouri

Within the past couple of years, changes have been made to the Missouri Medicaid program that has worsened the condition of Missouri's uninsured. Eligibility and cost-sharing changes have taken Missouri from being ranked in the top 15 states with the lowest uninsurance rates to one of the states with the highest uninsurance rates. The drastic change in Missouri's uninsured rate, left unaddressed, is leading to tremendous stress on the state's healthcare system. Research shows that uninsured Americans do not receive adequate medical care including screening, preventive care, and care for life-threatening or chronic conditions. Even after the uninsured have begun to receive care, they are more difficult and costly to treat because they have poorer health when they enter the healthcare system. Poorer health from the outset of treatment along with the increased cost of treatment, naturally lead to less optimistic health outcomes. The uninsured have higher rates of both morbidity and mortality for all types of disease when compared to the insured.
The uninsured incur higher costs for the state not only through the medical care that they receive, but also through fewer years of healthy life and lost productivity. Other costs associated with lack of health insurance include developmental losses for children, family financial uncertainty and stress, diminished healthcare availability, and higher public program costs. Care paid for by some other source than the uninsured represented about 2.6 percent of all health care spending in 2001. Payments received from other sources represent a variety of organizations and individuals. "As much as 75-85 percent of the cost of uncompensated care was financed by a combination of government grants, subsidies, indirect payments to private health care providers, and care delivered by public health care providers." It is estimated that these alternate sources of payment represent approximately $40.7 billion. Private health care providers, including physicians/surgeons, represent an important resource for dealing with the high costs of the uninsured. By donating services and equipment, hospitals and health care professionals can help to alleviate the health and economic burden of Missouri's uninsured while fulfilling their commitment as a non-profit institution to provide charity care to those who need it most.

-Brian Geren

Hadley, Jack. "Consequences of the Lack of Health Insurance on Health and Earnings," Missouri Foundation for Health-Cover Missouri Project, 2006, www.mffh.org/CoverMo1.pdf, 1-14.