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• Tobacco Tax Hike Proposal Stays On Missouri Ballot

  September 21, 2016

  Voters will have a chance to weigh in on a proposal to raise the tax on a pack of cigarettes by 60 cents, after the Missouri Supreme Court dismissed claims that the initiative was unconstitutional in a 7-0 ruling Tuesday. The ruling marks the end of a long battle involving multiple lawsuits aimed at keeping […]

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• Uninsured Rates Fall In Missouri, But Expansion States Are Dropping Faster

  September 15, 2016

  The uninsured rates in Missouri continue to drop. But they’re declining faster in states that have expanded Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income families, seniors and people with disabilities. New data out Tuesday from the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that Missouri’s uninsured rate dropped from 13 percent to 9.8 percent. This means that approximately […]

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• Health Care Law Works Better In States That Support It

  September 13, 2016

  As insurers exit Obamacare marketplaces across the country, critics of the Affordable Care Act have redoubled claims that the health law isn’t working. Yet these same critics, many of them Republican politicians in red states, took steps over the past several years to undermine the 2010 law and fuel the turmoil in their insurance markets. […]

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• Missouri’s Opioid Crisis

  September 7, 2016

  According to Kaiser Health News, about 30,000 people die annually from opioid overdose — overdoses of heroin or prescription painkillers including oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine and fentanyl. Nearly 1,000 of those deaths occur each year in Kansas and Missouri. Throughout the last decade, abuse of opioids, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine and morphine, has skyrocketed 137 […]

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• Koster Stumps For Medicaid Expansion

  September 1, 2016

  Stopping in Joplin for the first time since the beginning of the general election campaign, Chris Koster, the Democratic candidate for governor, illustrated for a crowd at ME’s Place the ill effects of not expanding Medicaid in Missouri.  He gave the example of a farmer who has a stroke while out in the field. The […]

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• Here Are The 6 Questions On Missouri’s November Ballot, So Far

  August 31, 2016

  So far, Missouri voters will decide six ballot questions this fall. The deadline for issues to be certified for the Nov. 8 ballot was Aug. 30. Conservation Tax: It would renew the state’s soil and water conservation tax. Campaign Contribution Limits: It would restore campaign contribution limits. Cigarette Tax #1: Missouri’s cigarette tax would go up by […]

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• Missouri Has The Lowest Cigarette Tax In The Country. Why Does A Tobacco Company Want To Raise It?

  August 25, 2016

  A ballot initiative that Missouri voters will consider this fall would raise the tax on major cigarette brands by 60 cents a pack. From 2000 to 2009, 46 states and the District of Columbia increased cigarette taxes, raising the average state cigarette tax by 92 cents a pack, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a nonprofit […]

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• Greitens vs. Koster, Blunt vs. Kander Will Top Missouri’s November Ballot

  August 25, 2016

  Eric Greitens has emerged victorious from a bruising, four-way contest to be the Republican nominee for governor. He will face Attorney General Chris Koster, 51, who coasted to win the Democratic primary. Greitens, 42, is a former Navy SEAL and author who lives in St. Louis County. The primary races for the U.S. Senate were not competitive; […]

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• Mapping Missouri’s Health Care Workforce

  July 28, 2016

  Hospitals throughout the nation are facing a significant challenge recruiting and retaining qualified health care workers in a highly competitive labor market. Missouri is no different. Here are some quick facts from a report released by the Missouri Hospital Association on the state’s health care workforce.  Nearly one in four jobs created so far in […]

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• The Addiction Crisis in Missouri

  July 6, 2016

  A recent article in Governing Magazine revealed the advancement in treatment of and recovery from opioid and heroin addiction made in states that have accepted Medicaid Expansion.  This analysis highlights the lack of progress made in Missouri because our state government has thus far rejected Medicaid Expansion, instead sending Missouri taxpayers’ dollars to subsidize programs […]

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