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Senator Introduces Legislation to Expand Access to Health Insurance

February 27, 2007 By

A Senate committee hears a proposal aimed at increasing the number of Missourians covered by health insurance.

Senator John Loudon of Chesterfield sponsors SB 556 , legislation to expand health care access through what would be called the Missouri Health Insurance Exchange. Under Loudon’s legislation, small companies with under 25 employees would be required to join this Exchange. Loudon says the Exchange or connector would benefit both employers and employees by bringing together different health company plans, having the employer offer a monthly allowance to each employee to purchase insurance, and giving the employee the choice of plan that would best suit his or her needs.

While there is no mandate requiring an employee to purchase affordable health care coverage, that employee would be held accountable if there is a need for medical services. A person with the finanancial wherewithal to buy insurance, but who chooses not to buy, could see the Revenue Department demanding that the state be reimbursed for the costs incurred.

Download/Listen: Steve Walsh report (:60 MP3)

Filed Under: Legislature Tagged With: ,

Study Calls for Action on Employers Insurance of Workers

December 22, 2006 By

The number of Missouri workers covered by employer-paid health insurance is shrinking…and coverage of employee family members is declining. A new study describes that problem. The Missouri Foundation for Health says the practice of employers offering health insurance to employees took off after World War Two—and in the 60s and 70s, about 80 percent of employers covered workers.Many also covered family members at no cost to the worker. But as healthcare costs have risen, fewer small employers can afford the coverage. More than half of the families in which both parents work are now getting insurance through one spouse’s employer-provided coverage. That’s costing the bigger employers an estimated 891-million dollars a year—a situation the foundation says cannot continue. MFH Vice President Leslie Reed says small busienss needs to mobilize and press the legislature to give them options. Reed also says larger employers need to support them intheir search for more solutions and otions so the costs of healthcare can be more equitably spread. The foundation says almost 700-thousand Missouri workers are getting insurance coverage from one spouse’s policy. The legislature has discussed allowing smaller employers to form pools to get health insuance–but the idea has lacked the muscle to get passed.

Filed Under: Business, Health & Medicine Tagged With:

National Study Points to High Cost of Health Insurance in Missouri

October 19, 2006 By

A study by a national consumer health group says the cost of health insurance premiums for a typical Missouri family in nearing $11,000 a year. The study says about 80 percent of the cost is paid by employers. Families USA says costs for workers have increased twice as much as they have for employers. The organization says those are just premium costs. The figures do not include out of pocket expenses such as co-pays anddeductibles. The study says health insurance premiums have gone up more than 61 percent in the last seven years, more than three times the increase in median earnings of Missouri workers.

Related web sites:
Families USA

Filed Under: Health & Medicine Tagged With:

Expanded Insurance Department Takes on New Duties

August 28, 2006 By

Missouri state government has a new department. Actually, it’s an old department with a new name and added responsibilities. The Department of Insurance has become the Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration. The Department’s Emily Kampeter says the new department comes into being as a result of the transfer of several Divisions. Kampeter says the new department structure will allow for better development of regulatory reforms in tackling problems in title insurance, for example. She says this type of insurance is tightly interwoven with the banking and real estate industries. The new department stems from the transfer of the Divisions of Finance, Credit Unions and Professional Registration from the Department of Economic Development to the Department of Insurance. The transition culminates a process begun with the signing of an executive order by Governor Blunt on February 1st.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With:

Blunt Signs Small Business Health Care Bill

July 14, 2006 By

Governor Blunt has wrapped up work on this legislative session by signing a bill allowing small businesses to join together to get a cheaper rate on health insurance. Blunt is traveling the state to promote House Bill 1827. It allows small businesses to form association health plans. Such plans allow businesses to join forces in order to buy group health insurance as a single entity. In general, health insurance rates are cheaper for larger groups, such as large corporations. The legislation is modeled after a pilot project in southwest Missouri. The Department of Insurance approved formation of the Southwest Area Manufacturers Association’s Health Care Consortium. The consortium represents 1,300 employees with 32 companies. The Blunt Administration says six of the 32 companies had not been able to access health care for employees before. Savings on health care plans ranged from 18% to 50%. Blunt has now signed all the bills sent him by the legislature. The only vetoes by the governor this year were line-item vetoes in the budget. Blunt vetoed $10.4 million from the nearly $21 billion dollar state budget. His largest veto crossed out about $10 million budgetted for the Access Missouri Scholarship Program. Though the legislature placed the money in the budget, it never approved the bill to actually create the program.

Related web sites:
HB1827

Filed Under: Business, Health & Medicine, Legislature, Politics & Government Tagged With: , ,
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