A new report by the Missouri Foundation for Health estimates that about two-thirds of Missouri’s more than 800,000 uninsured could get health insurance under the federal health care law. The county level data suggest that rural counties will benefit the most.
The analysis uses census data to project how the number of uninsured could change in every county in Missouri under the Affordable Care Act.
The Missouri Foundation for Health’s Ryan Barker, says most of Missouri’s newly-insured will be from urban counties.
“For example in Jackson County, which is the Kansas City area, 70,000 people will gain coverage. Saint Louis County, about 60,000. St. Louis City about 40,000,” said Barker
Barker says in rural areas, which are less densely populated, the numbers will be much lower.
But he says percentage-wise, rural counties stand to benefit the most from the health care law: Knox, Hickory, and Ozark counties, for example, could see close to 15 percent of their residents gain coverage.