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Report: Missourians Are Changing Opinions On Medicaid, ACA

David DeHoey
/
Flickr

The Missouri Foundation for Health, or MFH, released new polling results that reveal Missouri voters’ views on healthcare reform.

The results showed that Missourians are more knowledgeable of the Medicaid program and that 71% view the program favorably. 

MFH policy analyst Thomas McAuliffe says part of this support comes from the awareness of rising healthcare costs. A program like Medicaid, McAuliffe says, cuts costs for both the insured and the uninsured.

“We all know that insurance is expensive,” McAuliffe said. “We also know that when someone’s uninsured and they show up in an emergency room, that costs all of us money. And the Medicaid program, believe it or not, saves the rest of us money because it gives the uninsured actual insurance.”

The MFH poll also revealed that 52%of Missourians support Medicaid expansion, despite its unpopularity among many state legislators.   

McAuliffe says since 2010 fewer Missourians oppose the Affordable Care Act, although it is still not supported by the majority.

“I think Missourians recognize that the system is broken. They recognize that the Affordable Care Act may not be the silver bullet, but they’re coming to the realization that this law is better than nothing. More people support this law than they do repealing it,” McAuliffe said.

The MFH poll also discovered that Missourians view the Medicaid program more favorably than other states. 

Samantha Rinehart was a student reporter for KRCU from 2012-2013.