Missourians who lack health insurance and who want to purchase it should have a little easier time getting coverage. A law expanding access to health insurance is now in effect. It expands the eligibility and lowers premiums for people to be covered by the Missouri Health Insurance Pool .
Emily Kampeter with the State Department of Insurance says the Pool is a government-sponsored program providing access to health insurance to people who cannot afford it or who are denied because of chronic health problems. In order to be accepted into the Pool a person must be asked to pay 150 percent of the standard market premium.
The MHIP was created in 1991 and expanded through HB 818 – a bill passed by the General Assembly during 2007 and signed into law by Governor Matt Blunt (R-MO).
Download/Listen: Steve Walsh report (:60 MP3)
