By Wally Kennedy

wkennedy@joplinglobe.com

A Springfield group, Missourians United for Choice in Healthcare, has the green light to circulate an initiative petition that — if eventually approved — could change health care in Joplin.

Proponents claim the proposal would guarantee all Missourians greater choice in health care, and open up markets in Springfield and Joplin where they say residents are not given choice. Critics say the plan would further drive up health care costs and make health care more difficult for many in Missouri to afford.

But there are hurdles the advocates must clear first. The petition must receive signatures from registered voters equal to 8 percent of the votes cast in the 2008 governor’s election in six of the state’s nine congressional districts. That equates to about 385,000 signatures. And that has to be done no later than 5 p.m. May 2.

Then the issue would have to be endorsed by voters on the Nov. 2, 2010, ballot.

Ballot language for the petition recently was approved by Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, but even that is being challenged in Cole County Circuit Court at Jefferson City. Laura Egerdal, communications director for Carnahan, said such challenges are not uncommon for initiative petitions.

“They could begin gathering signatures now, but many choose to wait until the legal process plays out,’’ Egerdal said. “If they wait until the legal process is over to gather signatures, they can be sure of the actual ballot language and that their signatures are valid.

“If they work to gather signatures now and the court upholds the ballot language, those signatures would be just fine. If not, they would have to start over.’’

She said the legal challenges in court are “incredibly common because the petitions often involve controversial issues. People have strong opinions on both sides and on how the ballot language needs to be worded.”

Battleground

Missourians United for Choice in Healthcare (MUCH) is based in Springfield, but it has ties to Joplin. That’s because Southwest Missouri is viewed as a battleground over choice in health care. Proponents claim that Springfield and Joplin, as well as St. Joseph, are the major cities in the state where patients with private insurance must see only doctors affiliated with certain hospitals because of contracts between the health systems and insurance companies. Patients who go out of that network pay more.

Dr. Marsha Taylor, of Nixa, filed the initiative petition that was certified by Carnahan.

On Wednesday, she said: “What we hope to do is break the monopolies that exist in St. Joseph, Springfield and Joplin.

“We want to be able to choose the best provider for the dollar. How can you do that when the market is closed?