Legislators went home Friday without passing health care legislation, the end result of a roughly 24-hour political power play.

Missouri lawmakers reached a compromise on tax credit reform in a job creation bill on Friday, but they left the Capitol for the year divided on health insurance for the poor.

In the face of a serious economic downtown, Missouri's uninsured population exceeded 750,000 and was growing. Nixon saw his proposal as a modest step toward trimming the numbers.

How to pay for expanding coverage to nearly 50 million uninsured people is the toughest question in the health care debate. Cutting costs is a popular idea, but few experts think enough savings can be wrung from the system to expand coverage to so many.

Democrats in both houses would vastly expand federal regulation of insurance to guarantee that all Americans have access to affordable coverage, a top priority of President Obama.

Senators couldn't resolve differences this past week over whether to create a public health insurance plan, suggesting an uphill struggle in meeting their goal of passing a bipartisan health care bill by August.

The latest news is available at
www.CoverMissouri.org

Last year the Cover Missouri team hosted community meetings across the state to discuss health coverage. At every meeting health care workforce shortages were mentioned. The general concern: Missouri does not have enough primary care providers, dentists, and general surgeons. This is especially true in rural areas.

Across the country, the lack of medical providers already creates a barrier to accessing health care. If health care reform is successful and health coverage is expanded, will we have enough medical providers to care for everyone?

The Missouri Foundation for Health will address this question at its annual health summit, Health Care Workforce Development: Cultivating Missouri’s Resources, June 2-3, 2009. The deadline to register is Friday, May 22, 2009.

The 2009 Health Summit will bring together policymakers, providers, and other stakeholders to explore ways of overcoming the state’s health care workforce shortages. Sessions will cover a variety of topics including telemedicine, retention and recruitment techniques, and innovative workforce development programs.  

Register for the 2009 MFH Health Summit by Friday, May 22.

Learn more about workforce shortages and policy options to address this problem:

• Who Will Care for Missouri’s Sick: Assuring an Adequate Health Care Workforce

• Missouri Office of Rural Health Biennial Report 2006-2007