Doug Ervin on Healthcare

I emailed Representative Ervin last night to get some clarification on all the healthcare happenings going on at the state level.

Here is what I asked:

Doug,

I am trying to figure this out. I thought HB 11 expanded socialized medicine at the state level. If this is true why did you vote for it? The reason I ask is because I can't translate the legal language that is written into the perfected form of the bill. It appears to me to be an expansion. If I am wrong please correct me.

Here is what he said in response:

Dear Andrew,

There were two votes last week. The first was the House’s rejection of the Governor’s straight welfare expansion which the Senate agreed. The second vote was after the House successfully killed the Governor’s welfare expansion. The monies that remain appropriated in the budget would be for a coverage program established in SB306. I am the House handler for this bill and the language in the bill is mine. We have a divergence of thought about what a coverage program should be, if we should have one, and, if so, what population should be assisted.

My position is this: no expansion should be made unless we can pass transparency legislation and that expansion should be limited to the uninsurable, be subject to appropriation, and be limited in scope. I will not accept an entitlement, which is what the original SB306 would be. The population I am targeting is the uninsurable defined as those who have pre-existing conditions, who cannot be medically underwritten, don’t have a group health plan available to them through their employer, and they make too much money to be on welfare. In short, this is a population with no alternatives for coverage if they can’t afford a policy through the high risk pool which is very expensive and it is a population that we know has health problems and are more likely to contribute to uncompensated care through the emergency room.

The underlying issue is uncompensated care, not the uninsured. We don’t have an uninsured crisis in Missouri. There is a lot to this, but I would be happy to explain further if necessary.

I appreciate Representative Ervin's willingness to respond.