Legislators look to restore health care cuts
Published March 9, 2007
Thousands of Missourians without health care could get coverage under a bill proposed by a Columbia lawmaker.
Rep. Judy Baker, D-Columbia, announced the introduction of health care legislation during a March 2 news conference with First Things First, a coalition focused on improving Missouri health care. One main focus of the bill is the restoration of health care cuts that were made in 2005.
Sen. Wes Shoemyer, D-Clarence, proposed a companion bill in the Missouri Senate.
"The reason it's so important is, frankly, there's a Missouri HealthNet piece of legislation out there, and not that that legislation is all bad, don't get me wrong. In fact there are some things in it I agree with it, but it did nothing to restore the cuts made two years ago," Shoemyer said.
Restoring the cuts would also result in receiving additional federal dollars, Baker said.
"We lost hundreds of millions of dollars in federal match money when we cut people off of health care," she said.
Baker said this makes Missouri a donor state to other states such as Massachusetts, which is expanding its health care and receives more federal money because Missouri is not receiving it.
"We're going to be asking for somewhere close to $130 million to be restored, which would leverage federal dollars to almost $300 million," Baker said.
Both legislators said taxes would not be raised to pay for the restoration of the cuts. Instead Baker said it would be funded from the governor's slush fund, waste in budgets and excess in this year's budget.
"It's irresponsible for us not to restore people living in poverty to health care," Baker said. "It's the only decent thing to do. We're talking about people who have no other options."
Shoemyer said he agrees that the state has an obligation to increase health care coverage.
"It's my moral duty to take care of the most vulnerable in our society," he said. "This state will never truly be great until all people are included in its greatness. We've got to make priorities and tough decisions."
First Things First supports the bills.
"Health care has been going in the wrong direction in the past couple of years," First Things First spokeswoman Margarida Jorge.
Jorge said the cuts will not solve the issue.
"But this is the only piece of legislation in the state that actually recommends a comprehensive solution to health care crisis," she said. "Every other health care bill recommends tinkering in the margins. It provides for a few thousand more citizens here or a few thousand more there."