Steve's Blog
A new study recently released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Washington Post shows that employer- sponsored health insurance premiums for family coverage increased 10 times faster than US employees’ median incomes from 2001to 2005. The report also found that the percentage of health insurance premiums covered by employees increased to 24.1% in 2005 from 23.2% in 2001.
According to the US Census Bureau there are over 770,000 uninsured Missourians. At the beginning of the current legislative session, Governor Blunt and the leadership of the House and Senate all agreed a primary objective was reducing the number of uninsured. With about four weeks left, it appears that partisan politics has gotten in the way of achieving this goal. Politicians from both parties are too busy positioning themselves and their party for the next election rather than seriously debating on what can be done to reduce the number of uninsured. It’s a darn shame!
All across the country PBS is showing a documentary entitled “Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick? Unfortunately, Kansas City’s PBS affiliate (KCPT) has decided to show this program at 1 in the morning. That’s too bad because local viewers are missing out on learning why a significant cause of poor health may not simply be unlucky genes or bad health care habits.
Those of you who know me will laugh when you hear I am writing a blog. To say I am technically challenged is an understatement. However, I do understand and appreciate various forms of communications so I have decided to join the 21st century. Over 20 years ago, I was the Publisher of the Kansas City Business Journal and in that capacity wrote editorials and opinion columns on a regular basis. While I don’t pretend to be a good writer, I do like to tell stories and comment on things I see happening in our community.
