What's at Stake
Currently, almost one in eight Missourians is uninsured. Families and individuals are struggling to pay their rising premiums. Others face medical debt due to health insurance that does not cover needed health services.
A growing number of Missourians are experiencing the real consequences of not having quality, affordable health coverage for themselves and their families.
The Rising Number of Uninsured in Missouri
From 2006 to 2009, Missouri's uninsured population increased 10 percent -- rising from 668,000 to 739,000 -- according to the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey. This increase resulted in the percentage of uninsured Missourians increasing from 11.7 to 12.6 percent of the state's population. The growth in the uninsured can be tied to both the decrease in Medicaid coverage in 2005 and a decrease in the number of Missourians with employer-sponsored health coverage. The cost to employers to provide health insurance has increased to a point where they either have to place more of the cost onto the employees or stop offering health insurance altogether. While some may think that the uninsured are largely unemployed, the data show that 81% of Missouri's non-elderly uninsured live in families where the head of the family works.
What the Uninsured Face
Compared to individuals with health insurance, research shows the uninsured:
- receive less screening and preventive care,
- lack needed medical care,
- receive less care for serious illnesses and chronic conditions,
- enter the health care system in poorer health, and
- ultimately have worse health outcomes.
Source: The Significance of Missouri’s Uninsured
The uninsured often go without necessary care which can lead to late diagnoses of disease and ultimately premature death. In 2002, the Institute of Medicine released a report that estimated 18,000 adults in the U.S. between the ages of 25 and 64 died because they did not have health insurance. In Missouri, nearly 10 working age uninsured adults die each week due to a lack of health coverage.
The Impact of the Uninsured on All Missourians
The issue of the uninsured and underinsured ultimately affects all Missourians. Health insurance premiums are higher in Missouri because of the unpaid cost of health care for the uninsured or underinsured. Additionally, there are economic and health system impacts which affect all Missourians, including:
- reduced quality and availability of personal health services,
- weakened public health system capacity due to diverted resources for acute care for the uninsured,
- diminished population health, and
- lower workforce productivity.
Source: The Significance of Missouri’s Uninsured
How Cover Missouri Addresses this Issue
Many Missourians have been uninsured at some point in their lives and can relate to the fear and burden of living without health coverage. The issue of the uninsured and underinsured affects each Missourian either directly (i.e., lacking quality, affordable insurance) or indirectly (e.g., paying increased private insurance premiums or using the weakened health care system). Cover Missouri will work with health advocates, the business community, health professionals, and faith-based organizations to encourage policymakers to address this important issue. Unless policymakers choose to act, the number of uninsured and underinsured Missourians will continue to grow and the significance of the problem will have an increasingly negative impact on the entire health care system.
Learn more about Cover Missouri's aim to address this pressing concern.
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