A new push for Medicaid expansion gains momentum in Austin
The announcement from Gov. Greg Abbott rescinding the statewide mask mandate and giving permission for businesses to reopen at full capacity is a stark reminder that the state of Texas often doesn’t care about the health of its citizens. As the state legislature’s session continues in Austin, a renewed push for Medicaid expansion, during a national pandemic, is really testing the limits about how much Texas really hates a functioning healthcare system.
Texas often likes to boast that’s it’s the number one state in the country (even if some Texas Republicans are trying to secede). In one area, Texas is number one, but it’s nothing to brag out: the state leads the nation in the number of uninsured.
The number of uninsured Texans has also skyrocketed since the COVID-19 pandemic began last year. According to a report from 2018, over 17 percent of Texas residents lacked health coverage. That’s about 5 million Texans without access to health care. However, last summer it was predicted that another 650,000 have lost their health insurance and that number has surely gotten higher.
Texas is just one of 12 states that hasn’t expanded Medicaid. When the Affordable Care Act passed, Texas refused the Obama administration’s help in expanding Medicaid, leaving millions of federal funds on the table. And while other states have learned from that folly, Texas has not.
Read more: https://texassignal.com/a-new-push-for-medicaid-expansion-gains-momentum-in-austin/
