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Missouri, Kansas Among States With Highest Levels Of Adults With Pre-Existing Conditions

Something for Missourians and Kansans to consider when they consider the effects of the measure approved by the House to repeal and replace major parts of the Affordable Care Act:

Both states are among the 11 with the highest levels of adults under age 65 with pre-existing medical conditions, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. 

Thirty percent of people living in both Kansas and Missouri have a pre-existing condition.

And as CNN’s Chris Cillizza reports, all 11 states were carried by President Donald Trump.

Which means, as Cillizza points out, “that many of the people most in favor of repealing and replacing Obamacare are also the people most likely to be directly affected – and not in a good way – if the new GOP bill becomes law.”

The bill passed by the House would allow states to opt out of requiring insurers to sell policies to people with pre-existing conditions and not charge them higher rates. Instead, states would be allowed to charge them higher premiums if they create so-called high-risk pools.

While the bill provides $138 billion over 10 years to help states defray the costs of those high-risk pools, most observers say that is far too little. Larry Levitt, a senior vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, says it would cost at least $25 billion a year.  

 

A pair of conservative analysts, James C. Capretta and Tom Miller, say the federal government would need to provide $15 billion to $20 billion annually

Dan Margolies is KCUR’s health editor. You can reach him on Twitter @DanMargolies.

Copyright 2017 KCUR 89.3

Dan was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. and moved to Kansas City with his family when he was eight years old. He majored in philosophy at Washington University in St. Louis and holds law and journalism degrees from Boston University. He has been an avid public radio listener for as long as he can remember – which these days isn’t very long… Dan has been a two-time finalist in The Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism, and has won multiple regional awards for his legal and health care coverage. Dan doesn't have any hobbies as such, but devours one to three books a week, assiduously works The New York Times Crossword puzzle Thursdays through Sundays and, for physical exercise, tries to get in a couple of rounds of racquetball per week.