Gov. seeks $4M to pay for rape exams

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Gov. Matt Blunt said Wednesday that he will ask the legislature for about $4 million to fund rape exams that had been billed to women or their health insurers until Missouri recently changed its law.

Blunt signed a bill in July that aimed to improve protection for victims of domestic and sexual abuse and make it easier for them to report the crime.

Among its measures, the new law prohibits health care providers from charging victims of sex crimes for a forensic exam to collect evidence. The exams and a so-called rape kit, which are used to collect and analyze evidence, cost about $1,100.

Though the bill does remove an enormous financial burden for those who report the rape to authorities, Southeast Missouri Network Against Sexual Violence director Tammy Gwaltney said a guaranteed source of payment is needed for those adult victims too ashamed or scared to come forward.

"What I'd like to see for sexual assault victims is a system where clinics and treatment centers could get reimbursed for treatment given to patients who don't report the crime," Gwaltney said.

The state already covered the cost of exams for sex crime victims if the person's health insurance did not cover it.

The new legislation requires the state to cover all such exam costs, rather than first billing private insurance programs.

Staff writer Bridget DiCosmo contributed to this report.