Study says one in eight Missouri children uninsured

~ Doctor says uninsured children suffer because many childhood diseases are left undetected.

One of every eight Missouri children has no health insurance.

That's according to a study prepared by Families USA -- a national consumer organization, on behalf of the Campaign for Children's Health Care.

The number of uninsured children is unacceptable, said Beth Griffin, Citizens for Missouri's Children executive director.

"No child should be uninsured. It's a tragedy," she said.

Cape Girardeau County Public Health director Charlotte Craig said the number of uninsured children in Southeast Missouri compared with the state's figure is fairly accurate. "I don't know the exact number. I do know that we have a lot of uninsured families in this area," she said.

Vicki Smith, CEO of Cross Trails Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, said about 16 percent of Cross Trails' 3,600 child patients are uninsured.

"There have been a lot of children affected by the Medicaid cuts. Before the cuts, most of the children were covered by Medicaid," Smith said.

That's one reason why the number of uninsured children continues to rise in Missouri, Griffin said.

About 190,000 Missouri children are currently without any form of health insurance. That number is 69,000 higher than what's listed in the Families USA report.

Griffin said Families USA compiled data between 2003 and 2005, before Missouri legislative changes in Medicaid.

Caruthersville in Pemiscot County is one of the poorest cities and counties in the state. Any time there are Medicaid cuts in the state, the city and county suffers, Dr. Douglas Fitzwater said.

Fitzwater, who practices at the Caruthersville Clinic, has a young patient with severe allergies. After the state made its first set of Medicaid cuts last October, Fitzwater said the patient's parents were no longer able to purchase his $250 per month medication to control the boy's allergies.

"This young man has a horrible skin disease. He can't go outside. His parents are trying to supplement his disease with over-the-counter medications, and it's just not working," Fitzwater said. "There will be a number of patients who may die because they do not have coverage."

Fitzwater said uninsured children suffer the most because many childhood diseases are left undetected without proper health care.

The Families USA study reports more than nine million of the country's children, from birth to age 18, are uninsured. That's about 20 percent of the country's population living without health insurance.

"For those nine million uninsured American children, the resulting harm is huge -- in denied health care as well as stunted educational and personal development," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA.

Pollack said a majority of uninsured children live in two-parent families, with at least 88 percent of uninsured children living in a household with one parent who works.

"This report clearly demonstrates that the lack of health insurance is affecting families from all walks of life. This is an issue that potentially impacts every working family in our state," Griffin said.

Families USA surveyed families of uninsured and insured children, who responded to questions such as the number of doctor visits and emergency room visits in the past year.

jfreeze@semissourian.com

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