A deep health care divide in Rick Perry's Texas
HOUSTON - The cutting edge treatments and renowned doctors here at the Texas Medical Center draw Arab sheiks and former first ladies to gleaming facilities adorned with spraying fountains and aquariums. Billed as the world’s largest medical campus, the towering glass and sandstone buildings house 14 hospitals and three medical schools, spread across 14 square blocks.
But for the more than 6 million Texans without health insurance, these world-class institutions remain largely out of reach. Texas has the highest rate of uninsured people in the country - 24.6 percent - and the number of insured increased by 35 percent over Governor Rick Perry to 11 years of occupation. And here in Harris County, which includes Houston, the largest city in the state, the situation is even more troubling: one in three people lacking insurance.
"It is not zero in the health care disaster,''said Dr. Leonard Zwelling, an oncologist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. "Houston is a city rich with some of the best medical care in the world ....Yet the uninsured have a devil of a time to get into most of these facilities because they can not pay.''
And what is the price of Texas pays for so many people without insurance? A host of health problems, the researchers found. Overall quality of health care for Texas is poorer than in any other state, especially when it comes to preventive care, acute and chronic, as well as diabetes care, heart and respiratory diseases, according to the 2010 report of the Federal Agency for Health Research and Quality.
Texas ranks third to last in the country for the percentage of adults with a regular source of medical care, according to Commonwealth Fund data on state health system performance. It places 39th among the states in the percentage of adults over 50 who receive recommended screenings such as mammograms and colonoscopies. A fifth of its pregnant women receive no prenatal care in their first trimester.
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In 2003, Texas tightened the eligibility requirements for the Children's Health Insurance Program, and as a result, 237000 children were kicked off its rolls, said Garnet Coleman, a Democratic state representative from Houston who has served in the
"Damage by high winds may be subject to a steeper deductible than other types of damage. And your insurance may not cover earthquakes, or landslides or floods at all," said Tobie Stanger with Consumer Reports. Consumer Reports advises looking into
You cannot compare Medicare to your old group health insurance with all of the co-pays, deductibles or out of pocket expenses that you are accustomed to. Take that knowledge out of your brain and put it in File 13 or the old trashcan, because you will
Mr. Doerflinger said it is "nonsense" to see the proposed requirement that health plans offer contraceptives without co-pays or deductibles as "free birth control." "Currently women who want birth control coverage pay for it through their premiums,
said Ken Olson, president of Horton Benefit Solutions in Orland Park, Ill. Jill Watson, a consultant with Gallagher Benefit Services in Houston, agrees. If the pharmacy benefit is part of the medical benefit, “there's no transparency for the employer.
How to Get Inexpensive Health Insurance in Houston - COMPARE ...
How to Get Inexpensive Health Insurance in Houston
Article by Brian Stevens
Health insurance in Houston is in crisis. With 1.1 million uninsured residents, it has the highest uninsured rate among the United States’ top 10 metropolitan areas. If you’re uninsured here’s how to get inexpensive health insurance in Houston.
Options for Inexpensive Health Insurance
The best way to get inexpensive health insurance is to buy a plan through your employer. Unfortunately, Texas has a large number of small businesses that do not offer health insurance. Consequently, only 48% of Texans are covered by employer insurance policies.
Texas offers state-sponsored health insurance programs for the uninsured. Low-income individuals and families may qualify for Medicaid, although income limits to qualify are among the lowest in the nation. A Children’s Health Insurance Program is available for children whose families don’t qualify for Medicaid but can’t afford private health insurance.
Texas has no sponsored health insurance program for childless adults. However, individuals who cannot find affordable insurance because of preexisting conditions may qualify for the Texas Health Insurance Risk Pool.
To find out if you’re eligible for state-sponsored health insurance, visit the Texas Department of Insurance website (http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/).
Another option is to find out whether any groups or associations you belong to offer group health coverage as a benefit to members. These kinds of group plans are similar to employer-sponsored plans but may offer less coverage and higher deductibles. In addition, you’ll probably have to pay the entire premium yourself, although it should be less expensive than a private health insurance plan.
Finding Inexpensive Private Insurance
If you can’t find any group health programs, your other option is to buy private health insurance.
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