May 27, 2008
Contact: Tony Wyche
314.361.4774

Missouri Foundation for Health Launches Cover Missouri and www.covermissouri.org

New MFH project will develop, publish, and promote specific policy options to increase the number of Missourians with health coverage

~ Goal is quality, affordable health coverage for every Missourian ~

St. Louis - -Seeking to provide Missouri policymakers with specific policy options to increase the number of Missourians with quality, affordable health insurance coverage, the Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH) announced today the launch of the Cover Missouri and its website, www.covermissouri.org.

“There are 772,000 Missouri citizens that lack health insurance. That means one out of every eight of us is uninsured,” said Dr. James Kimmey, MFH President and CEO. “The uninsured live sicker and die younger than those with insurance. They forego preventive care and seek health care at more advanced stages of disease. Missouri then bears these costs through lower productivity, increased rates of communicable diseases, and higher insurance premiums.

“With the number of uninsured as well as the cost of health care increasing, the cost of doing nothing to increase the number of Missourians with health insurance coverage could be staggering. We are launching Cover Missouri now so that Missouri policymakers will have at hand policy options to address this crisis.”

Cover Missouri, which is being coordinated by the Health Policy staff at MFH, is currently researching and developing policy options to increase the number of Missourians with health coverage. As part of this effort, MFH Health Policy staff is meeting with community leaders as well as health care stakeholders and providers across the state to ask for their input on various health-related issues. The ideas arising of these meetings will be published and made available to policymakers, the media, and the public.

While the policy options are being developed, Cover Missouri will release studies and other reports designed to help educate Missourians about the challenges arising out of one in eight of our citizens lacking health insurance.

To make available the most up to date information on Cover Missouri and other important health care issues, MFH is launching www.covermissouri.org, which will serve as the main source of information for the effort. Visitors to the website will have access to health policy research coordinated by MFH as well as the latest news about the crisis of the uninsured. They can also sign up to receive e-mail updates on health care issues from Cover Missouri.

“The costs associated with the uninsured affect each and every Missourian, regardless of whether or not they have insurance. We hope that Cover Missouri will lead to meaningful solutions that increase the number of Missourians with quality, affordable health insurance coverage, and we encourage everyone to visit www.covermissouri.org to learn more about this important issue,” said Kimmey.

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Cover Missouri is a project of the Missouri Foundation for Health that will develop, publish, and promote specific policy recommendations to increase the number of Missourians with health coverage. To learn more about Cover Missouri visit www.covermissouri.org.

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