Icet's brand new, but still very lame, excuse

GOP Budget Chair Allen Icet really needs to work on his excuses for standing in the way of struggling  families. Yesterday, he said he couldn't support the agreement between hospitals and Gov. Nixon because he feared an unrelated hypothetical proposal. Then he said he couldn't support the deal because it might make Republicans look bad.

Today, he said doesn't know if hospitals support the agreement. Never mind that they were one of the two parties in the agreement, and that they've voluntarily agreed to the plan because it will save them money in the long run.

For the Chairman's handy reference, here's a sampling of what the President of the Missouri Hospital Association has said in the last 24 hours about the agreement:

• In the KC Star : "By using the funds our hospitals receive for uncompensated care to provide coverage for more parents, we’ll help more Missourians access primary care physicians, decrease wait times in our emergency rooms and move our economy in the right direction."
• In the Post-Dispatch: "Every day, just as you do, we see the consequences of people who have no health insurance...They seek care only when it becomes unbearable. Not only is this about compassion, it's the right thing to do on behalf of the economy of the state of Missouri."
• In the Beacon: [MHA President Marc]Smith called the Nixon proposal "an opportunity we can't afford to miss. Everyday we see the consequences of people who have no health insurance. They are either getting it here (at People's) or in the hospital emergency room, which is an expensive place" for routine health care.

In fact, here's the Missouri Hospital Association's full press release on the agreement:

On behalf of Missouri’s 152 hospitals, I’d like to thank Gov. Nixon and Missouri Department of Social Services Director Ron Levy not only for their leadership but also their compassion for the most vulnerable of Missouri’s citizens.

The governor’s coverage initiative continues the historic partnership between state government and Missouri’s hospitals to use provider taxes to fund the state Medicaid program.

Missouri’s hospital provider tax began nearly 20 years ago, during Gov. Ashcroft’s term, when health insurance coverage was desperately needed by our citizens — much as it is today. Working with every governor since then — the federal reimbursement allowance program has provided significant funding for the Medicaid program without increasing the burden to taxpayers.

You may ask why Missouri hospitals would willingly increase their provider tax to fund this coverage initiative. It’s quite simple. Every day, the caregivers in our hospitals see firsthand the consequences faced by individuals who have no health insurance. These members of your family, your friends or your neighbors seek care when their illnesses have become unbearable in the only place they can be assured they will receive it — the hospital emergency department. We all know that the emergency department is costly and not the appropriate setting for nonemergency medical conditions.

With coverage, people are able to seek timely care in doctors’ offices or clinics. This is better for the patient and the health delivery system.

We fully support this proposal and have been working closely with the governor and his staff on its development. We recognize the strain the economic downturn has placed on state government and Missouri families. It is affecting us, too. However, as health care leaders, we must step forward to help the poorest families obtain coverage and help Missouri businesses control the cost of the health insurance they provide to their employees.

Nationally, the high cost of health insurance — approximately $12,000 annually for family coverage — has forced many employers to stop providing this benefit for their employees. When combined with increasing numbers of individuals losing their jobs and their health insurance, Missouri’s hospitals are seeing more and more patients who have no ability to pay.

For every 1 percent increase in unemployment in the United States, there is a 3 percent to 4 percent decrease in state revenues and an increase of 1.1 million uninsured. During these tough economic times, Missouri hospitals must do what we can to help offset the growing uninsured problem. 

Missouri’s hospitals applaud Gov. Nixon and Director Levy and look forward to continuing our historic partnership on behalf of the people we serve.

Seems like a pretty clear endorsement to me.