Impacting the Status of Missouri Women
Improving Access and Quality of Health Care
By: Kristin Metcalf-Wilson, Kerri McBee-Black, and Lorinda Daniel Moore

While women are better represented in the workforce, they are increasingly challenged to manage finances, family, health care, and childcare. The situation is no different for women in Missouri than any other state and perhaps, in some areas, worse. A comprehensive report entitled “The Status of Women in Missouri,” issued by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) in 2002, gave Missouri a ’C’ grade; sadly just average.

Women in Missouri should not settle for average. Women deserve access to services that will improve their status and provide a better future for their families - a future that, regardless of income, provides access to quality, affordable health care, economic access, and educational support. The health of their families directly impacts a woman’s ability to have a better quality of life, better paying jobs, and, ultimately, economic stability. However, historically women’s health has been seen as solely dealing with reproductive health, getting lost in the debate about reproductive rights. In the process, access to basic health care has suffered.

Overall, the number of adult women with any kind of health care coverage has been declining since 2000, from a high of 90.4% to 88.7% in 2002. Currently 71% of all adults on Medicaid are women. Recent changes in Missouri’s Medicaid program have further limited women’s ability to access health care, rather than improving access. The eligibility level for parents has been reduced to the mandatory 22% of “Federal Poverty Level” (FPL) or $292 a month for a family of three. Prior to this cut, Missouri Medicaid provided health coverage for a mother and two children if the family income was $980 a month or less. This decrease represents the deepest cut in Medicaid eligibility for this population instituted by any state and it will cause roughly 70,000 low-income parents to lose their coverage. These cuts to public health care services decreases access to primary prevention and will only burden our emergency rooms.

Providing access to basic primary care is important to prevent the need for a higher and more expensive level of care, the costs of which will be passed on to all consumers which will reduce and ultimately eliminate any savings from the health care cuts. It just makes sense to create a responsible health care policy that supports the citizens of Missouri and doesn’t create a system dependent upon those lucky enough to remain healthy with no need for primary prevention services. Those persons don’t exist.

Along with access to affordable health care, the need for access to primary prevention services is critical. Cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes are long term and often debilitating diseases. Research has shown that smoking and obesity are directly related to cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Prevention of unintended pregnancy is also critical. Regardless of individual beliefs about abortion, there is one thing upon which everyone should agree: unintended pregnancies are a public health issue and could be alleviated by responsible reproductive health policy. Access to comprehensive health care services for women in the state of Missouri can decrease the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions and reduces the cost and burden on the state, ultimately providing self-sufficiency for women.