Percentage of Texans without health insurance grows — again
The percentage of Texans without health insurance grew for the second consecutive year in 2018, again placing the state at the top with the highest uninsured rate in the country, according to
Last year, 17.7% of Texans – or 5 million Texans – were uninsured compared to 17.3% in 2017, which was the first year-to-year increase in the rate since 2008-2009.
Nationwide, the uninsured rate was 8.9% in 2018, 0.5 percentage points higher from the year prior. This was the first year-to-year increase in the rate since 2008-2009, according to the agency. Medicaid coverage nationwide decreased by 0.7 percentage points between 2017 to 2018 while Medicare coverage increased by 0.4 percentage points.
Expansion of the federal and state-subsidized health insurance program could cover 686,000 Texans who make too much to qualify for Medicaid yet earn too little to qualify for tax credits to purchase Obamacare through healthcare.gov, according to the
Expanding Medicaid coverage also could make an additional 439,000 Texans eligible for Medicaid, those eligible for Obamacare but who are just above the federal poverty level.
Republican state leaders reject Medicaid expansion because they say they don't trust the federal government to fulfill its promise to reimburse 90 percent of the cost. They also say the program is riddled with problems, including providing inferior quality of care.
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