This just in from House Speaker Rod Jetton’s weekly gathering with reporters:

Insure Missouri, the proposal to expand health care to thousands of uninsured people, has “a real problem” and is “on life support.”

The problem: House Republicans won’t pass the plan without provisions that would make it easier to build new medical facilities and make health care pricing more transparent. Jetton contends those moves would increase competition and lower costs for everyone.

But the Missouri Hospital Association opposes any changes in the so-called “certificate-of-need” process, Jetton said. The speaker said he met recently with the association to try to resolve the issue, but there was no give.

Jetton, R-Marble Hill, said he told the group: “Well, if you’re going to take that approach, it’s probably best for us not to waste everybody’s time and even bring the bill up.’”