Houston Chronicle Examines High Rate of Disease, Lack of Health Care on Texas-Mexico Border

A May 5 Houston Chronicle feature story examines the high incidence of disease and death and the "pervasive lack" of health care providers along the Texas-Mexico border. Rates of tuberculosis and liver disease are twice as high along the border and the rate of six "serious" birth defects is twice as high as rates in the rest of the state. Women in the Rio Grande Valley and other nearby counties die of cervical cancer at twice the national rate, and outbreaks of diseases typically found in developing nations -- such as dengue fever, rabies, leprosy or children with Hepatitis A -- are highly prevalent along the border. Twenty-seven percent of border residents have incomes lower than the federal poverty level -- $8,860 for an individual -- and 25% to 35% of border residents are uninsured. Residents also have difficulty accessing health professionals because of a provider shortage; 31 of 32 border counties in 2000 were listed as "medically underserved." Further, reimbursement rates for providers working on the border are lower than for providers in the rest of the state, making it difficult to attract new doctors or improve existing medical facilities. A state Health and Human Services Commission last year examined the disparity in reimbursement rates and recommended increasing Medicaid rates by 16%, offering 10% bonuses to attract and keep doctors in border counties and simplifying the process of enrolling children in state health plans. The commission's recommendations have not been implemented, the Chronicle reports. "What we have is a full-blown health crisis in these border counties," state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh (D) said (Pinkerton, Houston Chronicle, 5/5). A separate Houston Chronicle story examines the rate of diabetes along the Texas-Mexico border (Pinkerton, Houston Chronicle, 5/5).