Health Care Access
One in five Missourians have been without health insurance at some point in the last year.
One in five Missourians have been without health insurance at some point in the last year.
When asked how easy it is to find care for physical health in their community, 66% of respondents said it was “very” or “somewhat easy.”
These perceptions cut across lines of race and ethnicity. However, there are disparities based on income, educational attainment, gender, sexual orientation, and ability. Those with higher incomes are more likely to report ease of access compared to those with lower incomes. People with higher levels of educational attainment are also slightly more likely to say it is easy to get health care. Women, LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities report it’s more difficult to find health care. Participants, who submitted their feedback through a virtual platform, also shared that accessing medical care was more challenging in rural areas.
Participants in the focus groups ranked the high cost of care, insurance premiums, and deductibles/copays as the top reasons it’s difficult to get the health care they need.
People of color who participated in the focus groups in Cape Girardeau were more likely than others to say that providers’ lack of understanding of patients’ language or culture was a barrier.
When asked if respondents experienced a mental health strain such as anxiety, depression, loneliness, or stress that affected daily life, 53% reported they had. LGBTQ+ Missourians, Democrats under 50, those who are unemployed, women under 50, those living with disabilities, and Missourians under 30 expressed the greatest incidence of mental health strain.
In Missouri, residents are divided on the ease of accessing mental health care, with no clear consensus. This isn’t simply a socioeconomic issue – while higher incomes offer a slight advantage, education level seems to have minimal impact. Interestingly, a significant gender gap emerges: men are much more likely than women to report easy access.
The findings become even more nuanced when considering race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. While there is no discernable difference among Missourians of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, LGBTQ+ individuals are nearly twice as likely to say it is difficult to find mental health care. Surprisingly, disability status doesn’t seem to be a factor in obtaining mental health care.
Missourians identified several changes that would improve health in the state, including better health care coverage/universal health care (22%), lower health care costs/affordable health care (20%), and lower cost of living (14%).
Missourians have a clear vision of what characteristics would make a high-quality health care system. Top priorities focus on safe and effective treatment (95%), being involved in decision-making about care (93%), being treated with dignity and respect (93%), and tailored care plans designed to meet unique health needs (90%). While quality outranked other characteristics, convenience (86%) and cost (85%) were both highly rated as well.
Black Missourians assign greater importance to all characteristics, but particularly being treated with dignity and respect. Women, and particularly college-educated women, placed a higher emphasis on all characteristics as compared to men.
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