Area legislators foresee focus on health care in G.A.

For real estate agents, the mantra is “location, location, location.” For the 2007 session of the Missouri General Assembly, the mantra may be “health care, health care, health care.”

Four local lawmakers—House Minority Leader Jeff Harris, Rep. Ed Robb, Rep. Judy Baker and Sen. Chuck Graham—recently discussed the outlook for legislative action on health care and on the proposed sale of MOHELA assets.

With the state’s current Medicaid program scheduled to end in 2008, the legislature will be focusing on health care initiatives, which also are claiming the attention of business groups and Gov. Matt Blunt. Whatever is enacted, the costs and the impact of those costs would be felt throughout the state’s economy.

“Changes to the state health care system in the wake of the cuts to health care in 2005 should be one of the top issues in the state,” Harris, D-Columbia, said. “It’s imperative that we draft a program that increases access to health care. Health care costs to businesses rise as the number of uninsured rises. Obviously, we have to look at what will replace Medicaid, but not in a vacuum. It must be comprehensive.”

The proposed sale of MOHELA assets appear to be more vexing to Harris.
The Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority has endorsed a plan to pay $350 million to a finance board that would allocate the money for new construction at colleges, with about one-fourth allocated to the University of Missouri.

“It’s remarkable we’re still talking about it,” Harris said. “I unhesitatingly supported every one of the governor’s different versions [of a MOHELA sale plan]. I will continue to work for it in the legislature.”

The political outlook for the proposal during the 93rd General Assembly seems murky, though. Challenges to the plan have been made by those who don’t want stem cell research carried out in Missouri, a type of research that could be done at the proposed life sciences center in Columbia. “The [political] landscape of this seems to change every day,” Harris said.
With Republican majorities in both legislative chambers, Blunt needs “to line up all the GOP to make the initiative pass,” Harris said. The governor would find support from some Democrats on MOHELA, including himself, Harris said.

Rep. Ed Robb, R-Columbia, said the MOHELA plan will be high on the legislative to-do list. But he added, “The greatest potential impact on the business community and small business will be what form the new Medicaid program will take.”

Rep. Judy Baker, D-Columbia, said she is sure the Columbia delegation “will be working to see the MOHELA package is done.” However, the deal could face “trouble in the senate,” she said.

Baker continues to seek more input on the health care issue.

“I think we want to hear from business about the need for health care insurance,” Baker said. “The biggest problem in Missouri now is the growing number of uninsured.”

When employers don’t help provide health insurance benefits, health care costs shifts to employees, and the legislature needs to find ways to help them, she said. “One of those is to restore the unnecessary Medicaid cuts,” she said, referring to a 2005 Medicaid overhaul passed by the Republican-controlled legislature.

Sen. Chuck Graham, D-Columbia, is direct in his assessment of the health care situation. “We have to do something about Medicaid,” he said. “We don’t have a choice but to work on it.”

While Graham is looking hard at MOHELA, he is also looking beyond it. There is no guarantee the proposal will fly, he said.

“What I’m trying to focus on is how to accomplish the funding of these capital improvement projects,” he said. “MOHELA may not be the best way to fund these projects. If there is a surplus, use it.”

Columbia needs the new projects, he said. “As the university goes, so goes the community,” he said.

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s legislative agenda points out that employers provide 92 percent of all private-sector insurance in the state. “Therefore, addressing our nation’s health care crisis from the employer perspective could go a long way in reducing the number of uninsured in America,” the chamber agenda said.

Associated Industries of Missouri plans to ask the legislature to provide incentives to small businesses to provide health insurance to employees.