13 Percent Of Missouri Women Are Uninsured

MISSOURI — The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, was signed into law in March 2010 and upheld by the Supreme Court two years later. The law aimed to give more Americans access to affordable, quality health insurance all while lowering the ballooning cost of health care.

But as of 2016, about one in nine American women of childbearing age still doesn't have vital health insurance, including many in Missouri. And there’s a steep disparity in the number of uninsured women between the South and North.

Uninsured Women By The Numbers

Nearly 12 percent of American women between the ages of 15 and 44 didn’t have health insurance in 2016, the latest year data was available, according to Peristats, a March of Dimes web portal that provides access to maternal and infant health data for the United States. And while that number is almost half what it was in 2010, it still means millions of women aren't able to access vital health services.

In Missouri, 19 percent — almost one fifth — of women of childbearing age in 2010 didn’t have health insurance. While that number sounds bad (and it is), it was fairly typical of most U.S. states at the time. Missouri was right in the middle of the pack, ranked 24th in the country. That number fell to 13 percent in 2016, but Missouri's ranking actually rose to the 13th highest uninsured rate in the nation, just behind South Carolina.

Regional Disparities

A March of Dimes map of every county in America shows there were far less uninsured women between 18 and 64 in 2016 in the Northeast than in the South. The number of uninsured women was mostly between 0 percent and 8 percent in Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont and Massachusetts.

But in the South, states like Texas, Florida, Mississippi and Georgia saw percentages that were double or triple (sometimes more) that of their northern counterparts. This means women in those states are far more likely to be lacking essential care necessary to deliver healthy babies.

“Clearly, as you can see from the map, significant barriers still exist,” Shelly Bateman, director of state government affairs at the March of Dimes, told Patch.

She attributed the decrease in the number of uninsured women in recent years largely to the expansion of Medicaid and increases in private insurance coverage.

“We know that Medicaid expansion has been really pivotal in helping women gain access to care,” she said.

But several states — including Missouri — have not followed the federal recommendations to expand the program. This can lead to gaps in coverage and, in some cases, situations where women find themselves stuck with work coverage they can’t afford because they earn too much money to qualify for public programs.

To close the disparity, Bateman suggests states expand Medicaid coverage by bumping the income eligibility requirement to 138 percent of the federal poverty level.

“Obviously we are in support of expansion and oppose any narrowing eligibility or reducing or eliminating coverage for health services,” she said.

Why Women Need Health Insurance

If March of Dimes had a “dream,” Bateman said, it would be to have affordable quality health insurance for all women, particularly those of childbearing age. Medicaid is vital to the health of moms and babies, she said, and even small changes to the program can have a significant, long-term effect.

“I think it’s important that policymakers exercise great care and caution that any changes to these programs don’t harm the health of moms and babies by posing barriers to care,” she said.

Data shows that half — yes, half — of all pregnancies are unplanned. That means half of all women who need maternity coverage don’t anticipate needing it. Furthermore, nearly every woman will become pregnant at least once in her lifetime and nearly every man will father a child.

“Access to affordable, comprehensive health coverage and quality health services directly impacts not only the health of moms but the health of babies and our future,” said Bateman.

She said women need to be able to access services before, during, after and between pregnancies.

Before pregnancy, women need access to numerous quality preventative services including routine checkups, tobacco cessation programs, immunizations and recommended screenings.

During pregnancy, women need regular, high quality prenatal care to monitor their pregnancy and to be able to address any issues. Women with high-risk pregnancies need even more care during this period, Bateman said.

And following a pregnancy, women need access to postpartum care.

Patch national reporter Dan Hampton contributed this report.

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