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August 29, 2007
Contact: Tony Wyche (314) 361-4774 or tonywyche@soapbox-pr.com
New Census Data on Uninsured Highlights
Need for Reauthorization and Expansion of SCHIP
23,000 more Missouri kids now lack health
insurance
St. Louis -
With new data from the U.S. Census Bureau showing that the
number of Missouri children lacking health insurance jumped
in the past year by over 23,000, the Missouri Foundation for
Health today called for Congress and the President to work
together on the reauthorization and expansion of the State
Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
"This new census data demonstrates why
concern over health care is the number one issue on the minds
of Missouri families," said Leslie Reed, Vice President
for Health Policy for the Missouri Foundation for Health.
"The spike in the number of Missourians lacking health
insurance is troubling, and the dramatic increase in the number
of uninsured children highlights the need for the reauthorization
and expansion of the SCHIP program."
Since its creation ten years ago, SCHIP has
helped states like Missouri provide health insurance to the
children of millions of lower-income families. These working
families cannot afford private insurance but do not qualify
for Medicaid, thus putting them in a no-man's land where they
are unable to provide health care coverage for their children.
Many families pay a premium to SCHIP in order for their children
to participate.
The SCHIP program - termed MC+ for Kids in Missouri
-- has provided a safety net for these children at a time
when there has been a decrease in employer-sponsored insurance
and an increase in the number of uninsured adults.
Both chambers of Congress recently passed legislation
reauthorizing the SCHIP program, but the House and Senate
versions contained different funding levels for the program
and must be reconciled in a conference committee before being
sent to the President for his approval.
"We know that children lacking health insurance
coverage are more likely to go without immunizations, miss
school because of an untreated illness, have less access to
primary care, and make use of hospital emergency rooms for
conditions that could be prevented by visiting their doctor,"
added Reed. "The cost of failing to provide health coverage
to our kids far outweighs the costs of reauthorizing and expanding
the SCHIP program, so it is our hope that Congress and the
President will work together to make sure that no child in
America has to go without basic health care."
According to Census data, the number of uninsured
Missourians went up by an estimated 104,000 people between
2005 and 2006, totaling 772,000. The increase was nearly 3
times the national average. The number of uninsured children
in Missouri increased from 104,000 to 127,000, which means
that over 9 percent of Missouri children currently lack health
care.
"With so many kids lacking health
insurance, the reauthorization of SCHIP provides policymakers
with the opportunity to not only fund the program at a level
sufficient to maintain coverage for those already enrolled,
but to increase funding so that even more of our state's uninsured
children can receive health coverage," said Reed. "And
it is our hope that in addition ensuring that our kids are
covered through the reauthorization and expansion of SCHIP
that attention can focus on solutions that help make quality,
affordable health care more accessible to more of the 47 million
Americans that lack coverage."
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Established in 2000, MFH is the largest non-governmental
funder of community health activities in the state. MFH is
in its sixth year of grantmaking, having issued more than
$230 million in grants and awards to date. It is dedicated
to serving the uninsured, underinsured and underserved in
84 Missouri counties and the City of St. Louis. For more information
about MFH, visit www.mffh.org.
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