Texans losing health coverage
Every month, 24,070 Texans lose their health care coverage, according to a report released Wednesday by an advocacy group.
The report by Families USA, which is an advocate for quality, affordable health coverage for all Americans, comes as Congress is weighing, health care reforms pushed by President Barack Obama.
The report says that between January 2008 and December 2010, 6.9 million Americans lost or will have lost health coverage, including 866,580 Texans. Only California was projected to have had mare people lose coverage. “The longer Congress waits to act, the more families will lose coverage,” Families USA Executive Director Ron Pollack said.
Though the economy is a factor, the rising cost of premiums, Pollack said. Between 1999 and 2008, the average annual family, premium more than doubled from $5,791 to $12,680, the report said.
Arlene Wohlgemuth, a senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, which is an advocate for limited government, said the health reform proposal that cleared a Senate panel Wednesday would amount to a “government takeover of our health care system.”
Texas has the nation’s highest rate of uninsured people: 25 percent.
