Monday, March 19, 2007
Contact: Jessica Robinson, 573-751-0290
Blunt Announces Joint Effort to Provide Health Care to 70,000 Missourians
ST. LOUIS–At his Summit on Health Care Access and Affordability today, Gov. Matt Blunt announced that the St. Louis Regional Health Commission will receive $75 million during the next three years to provide either health care coverage or access to needed health care services for St. Louis' uninsured and underinsured population. The funding will help as many as 70,000 Missourians.
"Without this funding tens of thousands of Missourians would have lost access to their health care, access to physicians, access to where they get their prescriptions filled at a discount and many other important health services," Blunt said. "Now as many as 70,000 Missourians will have access to care. I applaud the extraordinary joint effort of Missouri's hospitals, the state, and the St. Louis Community. We can take pride in this collaborative effort, which will surely serve as a national model."
The St. Louis Regional Health Commission is a collaborative effort among St. Louis City, St. Louis County, the state, health providers and community members to provide access to primary and preventative care for more than 60,000 Missourians in the St. Louis area. The decade old partnership provided the means to keep St. Louis Regional Hospital's emergency room and primary care and specialty referral system operational. The continuing funding is made possible by an ongoing joint effort among stakeholders and ensures that the health care safety net system for uninsured and underinsured in St. Louis City and County remains intact.
The partnership gives between 50,000 and 70,000 area residents access to a health care home, enabling them to see a doctor when needed instead of waiting until serious illness requires expensive, emergency treatment.