While our Did You Know page covers the need-to-know facts about Medicaid Expansion, this page will help you learn even more about the topic and how it intersects with your life as a Texan. From topics like healthcare affordability to maternal health, stay tuned as we update this page with everything you need to know about healthcare in Texas.
Getting affordable healthcare anywhere is hard. Texas has rules in place that make it even harder. That’s because Texas never passed Medicaid expansion.
In 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) planned that:
- Low income Americans would get Medicaid. The ACA would increase the income criteria—in what’s called ‘Medicaid expansion.’
- Those with slightly higher incomes could get high quality plans covered in part by the government, through Healthcare.Gov
Then, several states sued. Texas AG Ken Paxton led the lawsuit.
In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that only states had the authority to expand Medicaid.
Texas is one of the eleven states that has not adopted Medicaid expansion yet.
We are home to some of the most restrictive Medicaid criteria in the nation. This is why we are dead last when it comes to health insurance.
Texas lags behind our neighbors, boasting the highest % of uninsured adults in the nation.
We also have huge racial/ethnic disparities, with esp. high uninsured rates among Texans who are Hispanic or Native American.
But all Texans of all backgrounds are less likely to have health insurance than Americans overall.
40 other states have expanded Medicaid.
This is a cost-effective policy to make sure everyone, including low-wage workers, has affordable health care options.
Will Texas be next?
We have a valuable network of low-cost clinics and services. But it’s a patchwork solution, and these places simply can’t keep up with the demand.
Also, they are not in many counties, especially rural ones.
Texans with insurance, including Medicaid, have access to a range of services that uninsured folks don’t, including:
- Kids’ eyeglasses
- Managing chronic illness
- Cancer treatment
- Specialty care
Uninsured Texans wait longer to seek medical care, leading to worse health outcomes and higher costs for families and taxpayers.
Thousands of uninsured Texans die each year from treatable illnesses.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Expand Medicaid.
Many Texans with low-wage jobs don’t get offered insurance and don’t make enough to afford their own health insurance.
Texans can get financial help to buy a plan on Healthcare.Gov. Many can actually get a plan with a $0 monthly premium.
But if your income is too low (below the poverty level), you don’t qualify for that help.
Medicaid was designed to be there for low-income Americans. But Texas has the most restrictive Medicaid rules in the nation. Able-bodied adults without children can’t get it, period. Parents have to make practically nothing.
Medicaid expansion is about getting basic health insurance to people who have zero options right now.
By expanding Medicaid, Texas would draw down $10 billion or more per year in federal funding.
That’s billions we’re already paying in taxes but not bringing home to Texas. Meanwhile, our taxes pay for Medicaid expansion in other states.
When people are covered, they can more easily afford their medical bills. That helps:
- Rural hospitals stay open
- Create & save health care jobs
- Keep premiums down for all
- Keep local property taxes down
(Who do you think ends up footing the bill when people can't get health care?)
Medicaid Expansion would provide health insurance to about 1.4 million Texans who are currently uninsured.
It reaches more people than any other health policy the state could pass.
Of these 1.4 million:
- About 3 in 4 are working
- About one-third are parents
- More than half live below the federal poverty level
- All are U.S. Citizens
Research shows that when parents can get health insurance, their children are more likely to get covered too.
Plus, children are healthier when their parents can stay healthy.
So, what are we waiting for? It’s time to expand Medicaid.