Missouri's public universities all have committed to using an infusion of federal stimulus money to expand their health education programs, and Southeast Missouri State University plans to start an accelerated nursing program.

The University of Missouri System will use $24.3 million in federal budget stabilization funds to graduate 216 additional health care professionals over the next few years.

House leaders outlined a health care overhaul plan that would create a national health insurance "exchange" for consumers and include a government-run plan as one option, while Sen. Edward Kennedy introduced a similar bill in the Senate.

President Obama is preparing an intense push for legislation that will include speeches, town-hall-style meetings and much deeper engagement with lawmakers, senior White House officials say.

President Obama's push for healthcare reforms gets a boost today from a new study by Harvard University researchers that shows a sizable increase over six years in bankruptcies caused in part by ever-higher medical expenses.

The latest news is available at
www.CoverMissouri.org

As health care reform discussions heat up and legislation is being prepared for debate, the Cover Missouri team is increasing the number of bulletins distributed in the next few weeks and making regular updates to www.covermissouri.org to keep you informed.

A report released this month explores the growing problem of medical debt with a national survey. The survey found medical debt was a factor in the majority of bankruptcies filed in the U.S. in 2007. Specifically:

• Nearly 4 out of 10 people had lost income due to an illness;
  
  
• Around 57 percent of participants had high medical bills; and
  
  
• An American family filed for bankruptcy as the consequence of an illness every 90 seconds in 2007, before the current economic downturn.

It is important to note that more than 3 in 4 people in this survey were insured when they filed for bankruptcy. Underinsurance, or insurance that does not fully cover health care needs, is increasing and contributing to the rise in bankruptcies linked to medical debt.

Hospital bills, prescription drugs, doctors’ bills, and insurance premiums are some of the major medical costs attributed to these bankruptcies. The report concludes the current health care financing system is broken and does not work for the middle class, the poor, or the uninsured.

Read the report: Medical Bankruptcy in the U.S., 2007: Results of a National Study

Learn more about health care in Missouri