Senator Keaveny Responds to Drop in Number of Emergency Room Visits, Calls for Medicaid Expansion in 2016

Senator Keaveny Responds to Drop in Number of Emergency Room Visits, Calls for Medicaid Expansion in 2016

JEFFERSON CITY— A recent study released by the St. Louis Regional Health Commission (RHC) shows emergency room visits in the St. Louis area are down about 5 percent from previous years. Senator Joseph Keaveny, D-St. Louis, says the decrease in visits is tied to the increased number of St. Louis residents who have health insurance through the healthcare exchange. However, the number of visits could decrease even more, if the state would expand Medicaid.

“There were about 7,000 fewer emergency room visits to St. Louis area hospitals in 2014,” Sen. Keaveny said. “Some of the decrease is due to the number of residents who have health insurance that once did not. However, there are also a large number of people who have high-deductible plans and simply cannot afford to go to the emergency room. While there are 23,300 more St. Louis area residents with health insurance than there were in 2010, many are still uninsured or under-insured. We still have friends and neighbors who need access to healthcare.”

In Missouri, it is estimated that while between 250,000 and 300,000 mostly working people are eligible for Missouri’s Medicaid program, many of them do not make enough to qualify for subsidized insurance on the healthcare exchange.

“A large number of Missourians, who do not have the health care they need, would be eligible for that care, should they be residents of Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky or Arkansas,” Sen. Keaveny said. “The proven solution is Medicaid expansion. It is common-sense use of both federal and state legislation and funds that will save lives. Medicaid expansion is a priority of mine for the 2016 session.”

For more information on Sen. Keaveny’s sponsored legislation, visit his official Missouri Senate website at www.senate.mo.gov/keaveny.