Gov. Nixon announces plan to provide health care for 35,000 Missouri parents at no cost to taxpayers

Gov. Jay Nixon is visiting community health centers across Missouri this week to announce a landmark agreement with the Missouri Hospital Association to provide quality health care to nearly 35,000 additional parents - at no increased cost to the state’s taxpayers.
Under an agreement spearheaded by Gov. Nixon, the Missouri Hospital Association will voluntarily contribute an additional $52.5 million a year to provide health care to parents in Missouri; these dollars will come from the funds Missouri hospitals currently receive for providing uncompensated care to uninsured patients. This investment by the MHA would allow the state to draw down about $93 million in additional health care matching funds from the federal government. Together, these funds would provide coverage for an additional 34,800 parents in Missouri.
Currently, Missouri parents must make less than about 20 percent of the federal poverty level to be eligible for coverage under the state program. To take advantage of this landmark opportunity, the Missouri General Assembly would need to increase the eligibility threshold to 50 percent of the federal poverty level in the Fiscal Year 2010 budget. This is the only legislative action required to provide health care to these parents under this agreement because no taxpayer General Revenue dollars are needed.
“Ensuring that our workforce has access to quality, affordable health care is vital for turning our economy in the right direction,” Gov. Nixon said. “To provide for their children, parents must be healthy enough to get to work and perform on the job. But today, too many parents are going without the medical care they need, or they’re turning to emergency rooms instead of a traditional doctor’s office. As a result, families with health insurance are picking up this tab with higher premiums and co-pays. I commend the leaders of Missouri’s hospitals for partnering with me to reach this landmark agreement, and I look forward to working with the legislature to take advantage of this historic opportunity to increase..."
Read the complete story in the March 12th print edition.