Freshman Sam Barnes was playing two-on-two basketball last week when something happened: He rolled on his ankle. He thought little of the incident but realized his ankle might be sprained.
The next morning, he went to the hospital to have the ankle looked at. The price he had to pay for the examination was $75, with the rest covered by his health insurance.
Health insurance has become a major issue in Missouri’s gubernatorial race, with both major-party candidates proposing their own plans. The Republican candidate, Rep. Kenny Hulshof, has recently proposed a new plan to bring a kind of universal health insurance to everyone in the state who wants it.
The plan, called HealthMAX, would enable people to buy high-deductable insurance, meaning that the coverage will follow participants even if they change jobs. The plan aims to provide health insurance at an affordable price that changes with the plan the customer chooses.
Unlike most Democrats’ plans, which have the state pay for health care coverage, Hulshof’s plan requires that the customer pay the premium. Money will also come from the Missouri Foundation of Health (MFH), an institution created to help the uninsured.
Government control of this institution will help to ensure that it will not be “used to reward political supporters—including abortionists,” according to Hulshof’s Web site.
The coverage provided would directly correlate to the amount the customer pays. The participants would be entitled to at least $500 a year. Participants under a certain level of poverty would not have to pay.
“Since people save more directly [in a high-deductible plan], [large health bills] hit people pretty hard,” Tim McBride, professor of public health and social work, said. “It’s basically the first dollar of health care you have to pay directly.”
Hulshof’s plan, according to McBride, is also directed to provide market-based competition between private health care providers and HealthMAX.
Due to its shifts from current models, HealthMAX will affect students at Washington University. While the plan may seem ideal for students, who are generally a healthy demographic, McBride says that students should be wary of plans like Hulshof’s.
“Students who really do get sick are in a position where they can’t pay the deductible,” McBride said.
Hulshof’s Democratic opponent, Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon, has a health care plan that would guarantee complete coverage for all children and people who used to be on Medicaid. It would also provide for those with low incomes.
Nixon’s plan would use approximately $400 million from the federal government and $265 million from the state. The Missouri Hospital Association (MHA) is currently looking into both plans and does not endorse political plans.
Despite the potential changes that HealthMAX may cause in their insurance coverage, most students have not paid attention to the debate and agree that their health care is in their parents’ hands.
“My parents just sent me the insurance card,” Barnes said.
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