If TX Doesn't Expand Medicaid, Two Million Will Be Without Options

The American Prospect ^ | 29 June 2012 | Abby Rapaport

[Lorianne]

It's no secret there's a health-care crisis in Texas. The state has the biggest uninsured population in the country with around 6.2 million—or a quarter of all residents—lacking insurance. As a Kaiser Health News report highlighted, poor and uninsured Texans must sometimes wait more than 24 hours in emergency rooms, where treatment is most expensive, while more cost-effective health-care options, like preventative care, are out of reach.

The Affordable Care Act was supposed to change all that. It offered new avenues for health-care coverage to people at all income levels by expanding Medicaid. But yesterday's Supreme Court decision made it optional for states to expand their Medicaid coverage. "There's going to be a donut hole in the middle if a state doesn't proceed," says Edwin Park, vice president for health policy at the D.C.-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. In Texas, if the state chooses not to expand its services, almost two million people may be stuck in limbo—without access to Medicaid, but too poor for the subsidies.

First, a little background about the Court's decision: A key element of the ACA was expanding Medicaid to provide insurance for those making up to 133 percent of the federal poverty line; those who make above that amount can receive subsidies to help pay for their insurance. Prior to the ruling, states had little choice but to expand their programs by January 2014; if they did not, they risked losing all their Medicaid dollars. Now, however, the Court has ruled that states can only lose the extra dollars they would get through expansion, meaning they'll keep the Medicaid dollars they're already getting.

[Dick Vomer]

tell them to move to California or New York where all the really smart and sensitive people live.

I don't want to see them leave... I just want to see them walk away....

[scram2]

Bingo and a huge % of the rest are young folks who just don’t want to pay for health ins because being young they believe they will never get sick or even die.

I never had health insurance when I was young and got it only after I was married at the age of 26.

[Texas Fossil]

Yep, Greg Abbot gave the best speech of the Texas GOP Convention in Ft. Worth.

He does battle daily with Obozo’s vermin in DC.

In a wheelchair or not I’d vote for him for any office he runs for. Fine Texan, fine man.

[Texas Fossil]

I heard that Chuck Norris wears Abbot pajamas when he goest to bed. Is it true?

Not sure I understood your point.

Chuck Norris is an actor who plays a law enforcement officer. He is however friends with some of the "real" Texas Rangers. He has been in the field with some of them.

Greg Abbot does battle with "real" criminals every day. Not physically, but with his intellect and knowledge of the law. He is a tough guy on that turf.

Don't criticize either of them, they both are good guys.

By the way, I live not that far from Breckenridge, TX. And nearer to the Perry's home. (14 miles)