Democratic Candidates Health Proposals Examined with Missouri in Mind
At least 52 percent of the 646,000+ uninsured Missourians would be covered
St. Louis, Mo., Jan 30 -Missourians following the presidential candidates’ health care debate will have new information thanks to an issue brief released today by the Missouri Foundation for Health. “Impact of the Democratic Presidential Candidates Health Care Plans on the Uninsured in Missouri” reviews the candidates’ health care proposals in regards to the number of newly insured in Missouri and the federal dollars spent in Missouri to get to that number by the year 2013.
“Experience suggests that regardless of the outcome of the primaries and the general election, real action on reducing the number of uninsured will have pieces of several such proposals,” said James R. Kimmey, M.D., M.P.H, President and CEO of MFH.
The issue brief shows wide variation in the complexity, impact and cost of the proposals put forth by Presidential candidates. In Missouri, coverage for the state’s estimated 646,000 uninsured ranges from 52 percent to 77 percent. Federal spending in the state in support of each plan also varies from $8.6 billion to $13.9 billion over ten years. Similarly, government’s involvement in solving the problem differs.
The study builds on a more extensive review of the various proposals for the uninsured prepared by the Commonwealth Fund of New York. Their detailed analysis of the national impact of the various candidates’ plans can be found at www.cmwf.org.
The Missouri brief was prepared by Kenneth E. Thorpe, Woodruff Professor at the Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health. Professor Thorpe’s earlier work for the Foundation determined the level of health expenditures in Missouri and projected the costs of a single payer plan for the state.
MFH will release a more detailed look of the presidential candidates’ health proposals once the candidates are narrowed to two.
“Impact of the Democratic Presidential Candidates Health Care Plans on the Uninsured in Missouri” was prepared by MFH in support of its mission to undertake policy studies on topics of significance to the Foundation service area and beyond. This document is part of a series of publications MFH is creating to convey information about current health related issues of interest to policymakers and the general public.
MFH is the largest health care foundation in the state and the second largest health conversion foundation in the country. It is in its third year of grantmaking throughout its service area - 84 Missouri counties and the city of St. Louis. The MFH mission is to improve the health of the people in the communities it serves. Current assets are approximately $1 billion.
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