Democrats call for Medicaid buy-in plan at Cape Girardeau meeting

More effective prescription-drug monitoring, lowering drug prices and increasing health-care access formed in part the Missouri Democratic Party’s vision for health-care reform as outlined by party chairman Stephen Webber on Thursday during a meeting in Cape Girardeau.

The most ambitious proposal would establish a Medicaid buy-in option for all Missouri residents.

“That’s a bold idea,” Webber admitted, but added it would increase access to health care and create jobs.

The state of Nevada nearly passed a similar bill, he explained, but that bill was vetoed by the governor. No states currently have such an option.

“All of this can be done without raising taxes,” Webber said. “Republican [legislators’] measures show Medicaid expansion could save the state $80 million next year.”

The party’s “Healthy Missouri” plan also would create a prescription-drug monitoring program more akin to those of other states.

“Every health-care group in the state supports this,” Webber said. “It’s just a few Republican lawmakers blocking it.”

Gov. Eric Greitens this year signed an executive order intended to address the opioid epidemic, but critics said the action did not go far enough. Other states’ programs allow health-care providers access to prescription databases to prevent overprescribing opioids, but the governor’s executive order does not.

“The governor went and did a press tour pretending he’d addressed this problem, but all his plan did was provide mass data to one of his donors,” Webber said.

One attendee, Crystal Park, serves as secretary of the Cape Girardeau Communications Workers of America chapter 6316 and said what most appealed to her about the “Healthy Missouri” plan was the provisions for veterans.

The plan seeks to ensure veterans unpaid time off work for doctors visits related to service-connected health conditions.

“On a personal level, I’m all about the veterans,” she said. “We’re trying to let people know [this plan] is out there and that it’s an issue.”

After the meeting, Cape Girardeau County Democratic Party chairman Michael Davis said he sees the proposed changes as crucial positive steps.

“Health care is an extremely important issue,” he said.

He expressed concern over what he saw as “craziness at the national level” by Republican legislators and the contentious plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

“It’s up to the Democrats to provide a plan of action to ensure people don’t lose their health care,” he said. “This is a call, a challenge to Republicans to do something.”

tgraef@semissourian.com

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