01/07/10 - News-Leader.com: Reform of health care system important to Missouri's future economic well-being, by Niel Ritchie
(Published at www.News-Leader.com on 01/07/2010)
Reform of health care system important to Missouri's future economic well-being
By Niel Ritchie
Caring for the uninsured will cost Missouri health providers $1.7 billion this year - while the number without coverage continues to swell. More than 790,000 residents already live in fear of getting sick or injured, yet every day another 210 of our neighbors, friends and families fall into that vast pool of the uninsured.
These losses don't simply vanish. In part they're made up through higher premium costs, averaging an additional $400 each year for every family with insurance. The rest is divvied up among state taxpayers, including all those unable to afford private coverage but too rich to qualify for subsidized care.
This isn't just unfair - it puts Missouri's economy at risk.
Between 1999 and 2008 insurance premiums rose by 119 percent, compared with only a 29 percent increase in inflation. These skyrocketing costs have struck small businesses particularly hard, which might not seem like much until one considers this: Three-quarters of Missouri businesses fall into this category and nearly six of 10 can't afford to provide employee coverage.
For the state's outlying counties this should be of considerable concern, where uninsurance is no less an issue than the total lack of access to primary care. Already more than 1 million Missourians - or one in five of all residents - can't access a primary-care provider due to shortages in their communities. Without a solid health-care infrastructure that expands the numbers of doctors, nurses and dentists, which reform would provide, these communities will have even greater challenges holding their own.
The link between health care and economic viability was revealed by the National Center for Rural Health Works, which found that one primary-care physician working in a rural area generates $1.2 million in annual revenue and creates 23 jobs. A loss of providers, by contrast, results in devastating hardship: The departure of one half-time doctor translates into more than a half-million drop in community income and 14 jobs.
"Health care is critically important to payroll and jobs but also to any kind of economic development," said Val Schott, director of the Oklahoma Office of Rural Health at Oklahoma State University, "because no one is going to move where there is not good care."
According to Claudia Tanoos, vice president of the Terre Haute (Ind.) Economic Development Corp., access to quality health care ranks No. 1 among considerations of companies looking to launch or locate in a community. She knows something about this as part of the Rural Health Innovation Collaboration, launched to increase providers and economic-development opportunities in small communities. "Rural areas do have difficulty attracting industries and companies where health care isn't accessible."
Reform critics are wrong on at least one point: They state those with health insurance don't have a stake in change. The fact is Missouri's economic well-being depends upon reform every bit as people who struggle without access to care.
