7/31/2019 Texas Leads Nation in Uninsured Citizens

1/2

0/25/12 Texas leads nation in uninsured citizens News The Prospector University of Texas at El Paso

ww.utepprospector.com/news/texasleadsnationinuninsuredcitizens1.1035055?compArticle=yes

Texas leads nation in uninsured citizensBy Pamela Prieto

Published: Wednesday, June 24, 2009Updated: Monday, January 18, 2010 10:01

One of the most pressing items during President Barack Obama's administration has been the reform of health coverage. While the

issue has caused a debate on whether the government should institute a nationally implemented program versus a hands-off approach

to the government's involvement in people's medical decisions, the issue and the solutions could have a great impact on Texas and

specifically on the lives of UTEP students and their families.

A study released in 2006 and revised in 2008, titled Code Red: The Critical Condition of Health in Texas, revealed that the state

contains the highest number of uninsured residents in the nation. About 25 percent of Texans are without health insurance, compared

to the national average of 15.7 percent.

The authors, who were members of the Task Force on Access to Health Care in Texas, found that, "Texas has not taken full advantageof available federal matching funds to reduce the burden of providing health care for the uninsured," and that the state's current "county

based approach to delivery of health careis inadequate and inequitable."

In another report, titled How Healthy Are We? Selected Health Measures for El Paso, Texas 2008, Hector Reyes Jr. found that in 2006

the percentage of El Pasoans who were not insured comprised about 40 percent of the county's population. Reyes is a UTEP graduatestudent completing a research assistantship under the Master of Public Health Program.

"The health care system is broken," said Jose Manuel Muoz, a UTEP business graduate. "Compared to other countries we have the

best services in the world, but they are not readily available."

Muoz currently has no health coverage. He also said that not having health insurance might have been a mistake on his part.

"A month ago, I had health issues and I had an operation. So maybe health insurance might have been a good idea because now I

have to pay $25,000," Muoz said.

The Code Red study stated that the single most prevalent reason for personal bankruptcies among Texans is medical expenses.

Layra Reza, a mechanical engineering graduate student, now has health benefits through UTEP's graduate school student employeeprogram.

"When I was a student, I would get (insurance) through my dad's employer, otherwise it would be impossible to pay for it," Reza said.

"It's something that should be available and it's not. Most of the time, the people who don't have the resources are the ones that are

uninsured."

At UTEP, only international students (except those from Mexico) are requi red to have health care coverage. The only insurance

provider that is UT System approved for international students in El Paso is available through JDW Insurance.

"There are no health questions or anything," said Lisa Veliz, JDW Insurance account executive.

She added that students are guaranteed coverage.

The plan is also available for non-international students and can be purchased on a semester or annual basis at $429 per semester.The plan includes a $300 deductible and the provider, United Health Care, pays 80 percent of the incurred medical expenses.

"I still don't think I would buy it," said Regina Martinez, pre-nursing sophomore.

Martinez has health care coverage in Ciudad Jurez through the plan her father receives from his employer.

"For me to pay that seems difficult financially," Martinez said.

Until the national health insurance issue reaches a conclusion, UTEP students have limited choices regarding their coverage needs. If

they can afford it, private insurance is one option if they can't and they are eligible, Medicaid is another.

The University of Texas at El Paso |

Login | Register

http://www.utepprospector.com/http://www.utepprospector.com/http://www.utepprospector.com/registerhttp://www.utepprospector.com/loginhttp://www.utepprospector.com/http://www.utepprospector.com/search?q=author:%22Pamela%20Prieto%22&fq=page:2.3048&ifByAuthor=true

7/31/2019 Texas Leads Nation in Uninsured Citizens

2/2

0/25/12 Texas leads nation in uninsured citizens News The Prospector University of Texas at El Paso

ww.utepprospector.com/news/texasleadsnationinuninsuredcitizens1.1035055?compArticle=yes

A third option, the TexHealth Coal ition 3-Share Plan, w on't be available in El Paso until late 2009, but it is focused on helping small

businesses provide coverage for their employees. This plan will aim to divide the cost of medical expenses between the employee, the

employer and a third party, either a non-profit organization or a government entity.

President Obama will host a special edition of Primetime at the White House June 24, where he will discuss the future of public healthcare. The program will be televised at 9 p.m. on ABC (locally KVIA channel 7, cable channel 6).

Code Red

research findings

Who are the uninsured in Texas?

79 percent of uninsured Texans work or have a working family member

76-82 percent of the uninsured in Texas are U.S. citizens Non-citizens constitute 18-24 percent of the uninsured in the state

68 percent of non-poor uninsured Texans are white, non-Hispanic individuals

Why are so many Texans uninsured?

The average cost of health insurance premiums ($9,100 annually) is almost half of the federal poverty limit

Most adults do not qualify for Medicaid in Texas

Texas Children's Health Insurance Program covers children in families that earn less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level, butdoes not provide coverage for adults

Pamela Prieto may be reached at prospector@utep.edu.