riiral orisis

MISSO[]-RT
RIIRAL ORISIS
OENTT]ER
11O8RangelineSt.
.
C-olumbia,
MO 65201
.
(573) 449-1336
.
FAX: (573)442-5716
RURAL MISSOLTRI IYEEDS MEDICAID EXPA]YSrc]Y!
Rural Missourians face a lack of affordable, accessible healthcare because of our lower incomes,
older populations, higher costs of health insurance policies and less access to providers. Medicaid
expansion will make quality healthcare available to many farmers, rural families and communities
and will save the state money, approximately $348 million in the first three years. These savings
could be spent on other rural priorities like public safety, education and infrastructure.
Rural Missourians Relv on Medicaid:
o Rates of people without insurance have been historically
higher in rural than in urban
areas and we have less access to employer based health insurance.
o The rate of poverty is higher in rural America as compared to metropolitan areas (17%
compared to 14.6%).
c ISoh of rural persons are enrolled in Medicaid compared to 15 .5o/o of urban people.
o Rural residents spend more on healthcare out-of-pocket than their urban counterparts
paying an average of 40Yo of healthcare costs out of their own pockets.
o Medicaid Expansion will reduce the rural uninsured by 30%.
Medicaid Expansion Will Help Missouri Farmers:
o With Medicaid Expansion, family farmers and small rural business owners will
o
o
no
longer be disqualified from Medicaid because they own land or have other assets.
Farmers and ranchers are more dependent on the private individual health insurance
market than the national ayerage,30oA vs. 8o/o. Farmers in the private market spend over
$2,000 more than those insured through off-farm employment.
Farmers in particular rely on the costliest types of policies-catastrophic, high-premium,
high-deductible policies.
Medicaid Expansion Will Benefit Rural Hospitals & Providers:
o Without Medicaid Expansion, hospitals will lose nearly $a00 million in funding in 2014
o
c
alone, putting rural hospitals at risk of closure or cuts in services.
Rural areas are already disproportionately understaffed. About 9o/o of physicians
practice in rural America despite the fact that20oA of the population lives here.
In2009,14oA of gross revenues for rural hospitals came from Medicaid.
Medicaid Expansion Will Create Rural Jobs:
o Medicaid Expansion will create over 24,000 new jobs in Missouri. But not expanding
Medicaid will cost over 9,000 jobs.
MISSOI]RI
RI]RAL ORISIS
OENIItrR
1108 Rangeline
St. . Columbia, MO 65201 .
(573) 449-7336
.
FAX: (5731442-5716
Rural Healthcare Matters
.
Throughout rural America, there are millions of people who face challenges in accessing
health care, including 8.5 million people who are uninsured.
Rural Missourians are more dependent on Medicare than our urban counterparts because we
have lower incomes and older populations.
Rates of poverty are higher in rural areas than in urban areas, lToA compared with I5oA.
Over 24oA of rural children live in poverty.
In Missouri,33Yo of Medicare participants are in rural counties, compared to only 24Yo
nationally.
Farmers and ranchers are more dependent on the private individual health insurance market
than the national ayerage,30o/o vs. Bo/o, and rural residents as a whole are less likely to have
employer-provided health care coverage or prescription drug coverage.
Rural residents spend more on healthcare out-of-pocket than their urban counterparls paying
an average of 40%o of healthcare costs out of their own pockets.
Rural citizens have higher rates of age-adjusted mortality, disability and chronic disease
than their urban counterparts.
Rural areas continue to suffer from a lack of diverse providers for their communities' health
care needs, with only 55 primary care physicians per 100,000 residents. Only about 9o/o of
physicians practice in rural America despite the fact that20oh of the population lives in
these areas.
As the state with the second highest number of farms, Missouri farmers play a critical role
in our rural economy. Access to affordable health insurance is a key factor in farm
families' decision to pursue off-farm income. Missouri farmers depend more on off-farm
employment as a source of employer sponsored health insurance than other Midwestern
states. This is not good for family farmers or rural communities.
The private, individual market has not worked for Missouri farmers because it forces
farm families to obtain the most expensive policies that result in the highest overall
healthcare costs.
F One out of five Missouri farmers and ranchers surveyed reported that healthcare costs
contributed to their financial problems, including, making it difficult to pay off farm or
ranch loans, increasing the need to seek secondary employment away from the farm and
causing them to delay farm investments.
F Farm families insured through the individual market spent over two thousand dollars
more than those insured through off-farm or ranch employment
F Farmers and ranchers who bought insurance in the individual market overwhelmingly
reported relying on the costliest types of policies-those with high premiums and high
deductibles.