Attorney General Jay Nixon Announces Plan to Fix Missouri's Broken Health Care System
subscribeST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Attorney General Jay Nixon today announced his plan to fix Missouri’s broken health care system by restoring the 2005 health care cuts, expanding access to children, and using technology and market forces to make health insurance more affordable for Missouri families. Attorney General Nixon announced steps he would take to make Missouri’s new health care system more efficient and effective, while focusing on prevention and individual responsibility.
Nixon announced his plan at press conferences in St. Louis, Columbia and Kansas City. He was joined by health care policy experts, health care workers and regular Missourians who had their coverage slashed by Gov. Matt Blunt in 2005.
“When Gov. Blunt slashed health care from 400,000 Missourians in 2005, he created a health care crisis that has only gotten worse. Missourians lost coverage over night, families who still had insurance saw their premiums skyrocket, and our state turned away over $1.5 billion in federal health care funds,” said Attorney General Nixon. “We must fix our broken health care system, and that starts by restoring coverage to every Missourian who had it slashed in 2005, expanding access for kids and helping families manage the costs. We’ve been moving backwards for too many years. It’s time to move forward, change the system and help Missouri families get the quality health care they need and deserve. ”
Attorney General Nixon’s health care plan would:
- Restore health care coverage and benefits to the 400,000 Missourians who had it slashed in 2005. He would draw down hundreds of millions of dollars a year in federal matching funds.
- Expand access to Missouri children by: restoring coverage to children who had it slashed in 2005; reaching out to families with children currently eligible for Medicaid/SCHIP but not enrolled; and allowing families over 300 percent of the federal poverty level the opportunity to purchase affordable coverage for their children through SCHIP.
- Use technology and market forces to drive down the cost of health care for Missouri families. This includes establishing the Show-Me Health Consumer Web page, a one-stop-shop for Missourians to compare prices of health care plans, benefits and billing methods.
- Create a more effective and efficient health care system by conducting strict performance reviews of the current health care system and establishing a Blue Ribbon Commission to modernize health care delivery and management.
- Focus on prevention and individual responsibility by: ensuring access to pre-natal care; improving immunization rates for young children; reducing childhood obesity; promoting tobacco prevention; and increasing access to dental and vision services.
Attorney General Nixon’s plan is designed to fix a health care system that was devastated when Gov. Matt Blunt slashed health coverage and benefits from 400,000 Missourians in 2005. As a result of those cuts, the Blunt administration turned away over $1.5 billion in federal health care funds, and now, more than 750,000 Missourians, including more than 125,000 children, have no health insurance at all. As the number of uninsured Missourians increases, families who do have insurance pay for it with higher premiums and co-pays. From 2004 to 2006, many Missouri families saw their premiums increase by nearly $2,000.
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