Medicaid (MO HealthNet) is a popular health insurance program that allows Missouri children, adults, pregnant women, seniors and people with disabilities to get the health care they need, so their families and communities can be productive and healthy. It offers comprehensive coverage, including physical and mental health care, dental, and vision. It also benefits our state budget, keeps rural hospitals open, supports the creation of jobs and overall benefits our economy.
Health Care for Children and Parents in Missouri
Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are especially important to the health and success of our children and the economic security of their families. Medicaid covers early childhood screenings and treatments to help young children develop and be healthy. This is a critical time of life and is our best way to make sure all children have a chance to thrive. It also covers prenatal care, births, and maternal health care.
In Missouri:
- More than 605,000 Missouri kids are covered by Medicaid and CHIP – that’s nearly two in five Missouri children. And in 42 mostly rural counties, more than half of the children are covered by Medicaid.
- Medicaid covers 38% of births in the state.
- One in eight adults aged 19-64 are covered by Medicaid, and the majority are working. Medicaid helps Missourians be healthy so that they are able to work and care for their families.
- Medicaid improves access to timely primary and behavioral health care, which is key to families being able to stay safely together and out of the foster care system, which also reduces state costs.
- Medicaid increases early-stage cancer diagnoses, and provides access to timely cancer prevention, screenings and treatment.
Health Care for Older Adults and People with Disabilities
Medicaid helps families by covering long term health care for older adults – including nursing and home care. Without Medicaid, this kind of care is not affordable to most Missourians.
- Nearly 100,000 older adults, 9% of Missouri seniors, are covered by Medicaid, and
- More than 120,000 people under age 65 enrolled in Medicaid have a disability.
- Medicaid pays for home and community-based services to help people with disabilities and older adults remain living independently in their own homes, and
- Medicaid covers two-thirds of all nursing home care in Missouri when home-based care is not appropriate.
Medicaid is an economic issue for Missourians.
When people are insured, they can get the care they need before it turns into an emergency or more complex health issue without breaking the bank. When people lose coverage, they lose the financial protection that comes with it. This leads to catastrophic bills that send families into medical debt. More uninsured also means more uncompensated costs, which must be absorbed locally and by providers and taxpayers.
This is a rural issue.
Cuts to Medicaid would be particularly devastating to rural residents of our state – both those covered by Medicaid, and those privately insured.
Rural Missourians are more likely to be covered by Medicaid than Missourians who live in urban areas. More than one in four Missourians living in rural areas are covered, compared to fewer than one in five in urban areas.
Individuals in rural areas are less likely to have private health insurance coverage from an employer and are more likely to have low incomes. Medicaid helps to fill that coverage gap so that rural Missourians can access the care they need.
Medicaid also helps rural health care providers stay afloat, so they can serve everyone in their communities. Moreover, health care and related services provide critical jobs to Missouri’s rural areas.
Medicaid and Our State Budget
Federal funding covers 65% of the cost of Medicaid in Missouri, supporting good jobs in health care and ancillary fields in Missouri. Any cuts or changes to the funding of this program will put extra burdens on our state budget, including in critical areas like K-12 education, and will negatively impact access to health care and affordability.
