Immigration, Politics, Poverty Complicate Health Care Issues in Texas
The Dallas Morning News on Monday examined how politics, poverty and undocumented immigrants "intersect" in Texas "to make health care a thornier issue than in most states." While state lawmakers earlier this year approved proposals to increase funding for Medicaid and SCHIP, "they sidestepped a more wide-ranging proposal" that would have guaranteed coverage for all state residents.
State Rep. Sylvester Turner (D) said support for any new proposal that could increase funding for health programs is lessened by state residents who are resentful toward immigrants' use of charity health care services. According to the Morning News, the high number of undocumented immigrants and uninsured state residents "are key differences between Texas and a state like Massachusetts," which enacted a health insurance law this year.
In addition, about 3.7 million Texas residents live below the federal poverty level, and as many as one-third of the adults younger than age 65 in 2005 had incomes below 200% of the poverty level. Low-income workers typically have incomes too high to be eligible for Medicaid but not high enough to afford comprehensive health coverage, the Morning News reports. Medicaid's income threshold in Texas is 22% of the poverty level.
Meanwhile, the state has a disproportionate number of small businesses that do not offer employee health benefits, and even when companies do offer coverage, some employees cannot afford the plans. According to the Morning News, health care has emerged as a major issue in the presidential election, "so perhaps something will change on the national level after 2008, although many think the first action will come from the more progressive states" (Roberson, Dallas Morning News, 12/3).
