Middle-class Texans slammed by loss of health insurance [Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas]

Mar. 17--The number of middle-class Texans without health insurance increased 41 percent between 2000 and 2008, with nearly 500,000 middle-class workers no longer covered through their job or private insurance, according to a study released today by the nonpartisan Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Texans made up about 1 in 5 middle-class Americans who lost health insurance during that period, according to the study.

The results indicate that America's middle class -- with income of about $45,000 to $85,000 -- lost insurance faster than those with less or more income, particularly in Texas.

"The facts show that everyone is suffering right now, regardless of income," Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, the foundation's president and chief executive, said in a written statement. "It's a crisis in need of solutions."

The study is being released as Congress works to vote as early as this week on a final healthcare overhaul bill and in conjunction with what the foundation has deemed Cover the Uninsured Week.

The study was conducted by the State Health Access Data Assistance Center at the University of Minnesota and was based on information from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

According to the report, only California reported more middle-class residents without health insurance in 2008 than Texas. But the increase there has been much slower, with only 10 percent more middle-class uninsured residents since 2000.

Overall, the number of middle-class Americans without health insurance increased more than 2.3 million during that period, the report shows. Other findings:

Insurance premiums for family coverage rose 76 percent in Texas between 2000 and 2008, while median income in the state declined 4 percent. Nationwide, costs for a family insurance policy rose 81 percent while income fell 2.5 percent.

About 15 percent of private-sector employees in 2008 worked for a company that did not offer health insurance, about a 1 percent change over 2000. Nationwide, about 12 percent of workers did not have access to health insurance. The number of Texas' small businesses -- which have been hit particularly hard by rising healthcare costs -- likely contribute to the numbers here, according to Lynn Blewett, director of the state health data center in Minnesota.

About 23 percent of private workers are not eligible for their employers' health insurance because of lack of tenure, lack of hours or other reasons. Nationwide, nearly 22 percent of workers are not eligible for their companies' policies.

About 21 percent of private-sector workers in Texas in 2008 were eligible for company insurance but opted not to buy it, an increase of more than 4 percent since 2000. Blewett said some may have decided that the rising costs, coupled with reduced pay, made it unaffordable.

The number of middle-class Texans with private insurance increased by about 17,000 between 2000 and 2008.

About 50 percent of Texans age 64 or under in 2008 received health insurance through an employer-sponsored plan. About 80 percent of high-income workers, about 58 percent of middle-class workers and about 19 percent of low-income workers had company-provided insurance.

Arlene Wohlgemuth, executive director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation's Center for Health Care Policy, said that she had not seen the report but that "we totally agree that healthcare needs reform. We all think that healthcare costs are out of control. We all think that something needs to be done." The disagreement comes over how to fix it, she said

Dianna Hunt, 817-390-7084

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