LEGISLATIVE REPORT: HEALTH CARE AS ACTED UPON BY STATE LEGISLATURE

Looking over the 238 bills passed this year by the Missouri General Assembly, I am always surprised at the vast array of topics we address. This year, we addressed banking issues, school scholarships, and veterans' cemeteries. We passed a number of bills dealing with motor vehicles -- from licensing to auto insurance -- and we passed retirement bills affecting more than 15 different groups -- from teachers to Kansas City Police and local government workers.

One issue always generating attention is health care. A bill I have talked about before and strongly opposed was the vast expansion of Medicaid government health care into the middle and upper class under Senate Bill 632. This bill gives taxpayers provided Medicaid government health care to every child in every family of four earning nearly $50,000 a year with a quarter of a million dollars in assets. Called "Medicaid for Millionaires," the plan gives government health care to those who could and should afford their own and it expands welfare health care far beyond where it has ever been. Families earning more than $36,113 a year would pay one small premium to enter Medicaid with the one premium enabling every child in the family to go on aid. The bill ignores the real needs of families struggling with the often catastrophic expense of caring for developmentally disabled and uninsurable children. The plan I supported would have offered assistance to ALL these truly in need families -- the plan that passed does NOT.

Another plan better to address health insurance needs would have been House Bill 1297 that did not pass. This plan would have authorized an income tax deduction on individual state income tax returns equal to the amount that people paid when responsibly choosing and purchasing their own health insurance.

We did take action on a number of other health issues this year. Senate Bill 722 says health insurance companies cannot alter or deny insurance due to genetic information provided about the applicant or solely because the person is a victim of domestic violence. SB 722 also prohibits the use of state funds to research human cloning. For those in health maintenance organizations, Senate Bill 754 allows the insured to get a second medical opinion at no cost when diagnosed with conditions requiring surgery. House bill 1302 says insurers must pay most claims within 45 days or pay interest on those claims. Finally, Senate Bill 910 prohibits a party in a divorce proceeding from canceling health, dental, or vision insurance for the other party or any child involved.

An aspect of health care often overlooked by the average taxpayer is the obligation of state and local governments to provide for the health care of prisoners in their custody. This task is frequently burdensome and expensive. To help ease the cost of this care to the taxpayer, we passed Senate Bill 676 that allows counties to pool together to collectively purchase insurance for prisoners. This pooling concept helps decrease the cost of car by providing a large base of "customers."

If you have questions about any of these items or other bills, please let me know.

Rep. David Schwab represents the 157th district