[TGE-mail] April neighborhood association column

[Jeanette Mott Oxford]

Proposed Medicaid Plan Has Many Flaws
April '07 Neighborhood Association Newsletter Column from State
Representative Jeanette Mott Oxford (D-59)
In 2005 more than 100,000 Missourians lost their health coverage through
deep Medicaid cuts approved by the Legislature. In addition Missouri
proposed to end the Medicaid program in 2008 and to create a new program
to serve at least some portion of Missouri’s uninsured population. Senate
Bill 577 (sponsored by Sen. Charlie Shields, R-Kansas City) has been
proposed as the vehicle to create that new health plan.
I voted no on the 2005 cuts, and I also have many concerns about SB 577.
According to an analysis of the program by Joel Ferber of Legal Services
of Eastern Missouri, SB 577 does not solve these problems: 
Provider reimbursement rates are still too low. This means many health
care providers will still not accept patients in the new program. (A few
years ago only four percent of St. Louis dentists would accept Medicaid
patients.)
Medicaid coverage for workers with disabilities (MAWD) and children’s
insurance are still not available and affordable to many. The higher
co-payments and premiums instituted in 2005 have led to tens of thousands
of children losing coverage. Cuts to the MAWD program forced some to lose
jobs.
Medicaid coverage and services are not restored for more than 100,000
Missouri Medicaid recipients who lost coverage in 2005. 
Health care services are not restored to over 300,000 low-income
Missourians who lost Medicaid coverage of medically necessary health care
services which help to prevent illnesses and lessen the impact of their
disabilities.
The proposal does not address current disincentives that force people out
of their homes and community-based care and into institutionalized care. 
For all these reasons, I cannot support SB 577. I continue to believe
that the most cost effective way to provide high quality health care is
through a Medicare-like system that includes everyone. The U.S. is the
only industrialized nation without a national health plan, and it’s time
that this is addressed!
Important Healthcare Announcement for 59th District Residents: On March
2, U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple ordered Missouri to reinstate
coverage for durable medical equipment under the Medicaid program.
Medicaid cuts in 2005 eliminated coverage for some durable medical
equipment but allowed it in other cases. Although states aren’t required
to provide the equipment, Whipple said the state violated federal
Medicaid rules by not setting a reasonable standard explaining why some
equipment is covered while other equipment is not. If you have been
denied any services or equipment through Medicaid, please call me at
772-0301 as this ruling gives us a new opportunity to challenge those
decisions.
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