Gov. Nixon Details Plans to Provide Health Care Coverage for Additional Estimated 300,000 Missourians During Visit to Wright Memorial Hospital in Grundy County

Press Release

Gov. Jay Nixon today visited Wright Memorial Hospital in Grundy County to discuss his plans to provide health care coverage for an additional estimated 300,000 Missourians. The Governor said the step would not only benefit the overall health of the state's residents, but would also be a fiscally responsible move for the state of Missouri and taxpayers because federal funding will cover 100 percent of the costs for the first three years, and 90 percent or more in subsequent years.

"We have the opportunity to improve the health and the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of Missourians, and transform the expensive way we now provide care for people without health insurance," Gov. Nixon said. "This is the smart thing to do, and the right thing to do, for the people of Missouri."

The Affordable Care Act allows for an expansion of Medicaid to cover low-income Americans who can't afford health insurance by raising the eligibility level to 138 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. A family of four living at 138 percent of the Federal Poverty Level in 2012 makes $31,809 a year.

Because federal funding will cover 100 percent of the costs for calendar years 2014, 2015 and 2016, expanding health care coverage to those 300,000 uninsured Missourians would involve no state tax dollars for those years. Beginning in 2017, the state share would be five percent of the cost, and then increase to six percent for 2018 and seven percent for 2019. Beginning in 2020, the state would pay 10 percent of the cost.

Currently, hospitals are required by law to treat people who have no health insurance. This results in the high cost of caring for the uninsured being passed along to employers and individuals who must pay higher premiums for their health insurance. If this coverage is not compensated for through an expansion of Medicaid to cover the cost of that care, hospitals will have to bear those costs or pass them onto patients with health insurance.

Last month, a report by the University of Missouri demonstrated the clear economic benefit to Missouri of providing expanded health care coverage, using the available federal funds. The University of Missouri report showed that the additional funding for health care will create 24,000 new jobs in Missouri in 2014 alone.

A separate report by the Missouri Hospital Association found that in 2011, Missouri hospitals provided $1.1 billion in uncompensated care to Missourians - a record level.

"I trust that as others across the state scrutinize the numbers as I have, they will come to the same conclusion: that we must take this critical action for the people of Missouri," Gov. Nixon said.

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