According to a recent report jointly prepared by Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy and the Episcopal Health Foundation (EHF), nearly a third (approximately 2 million) of all Hispanics in Texas aged 18 to 64 remain without health insurance since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was implemented.
The report discovered the above fact despite the uninsured rate among Texan Hispanics aged 18 to 64 dropping from 46% in Sept. 2013 to 32% in Mar. 2016.
Notably, the study also found that almost half of uninsured Texan Hispanics are currently eligible for health insurance either through ACA marketplace plans or other private health insurance.
"We estimate 920,000 Hispanics are eligible for coverage now, even without Medicaid expansion or any other widespread change in coverage," said EHF president and CEO and nonresident health policy fellow at the Baker Institute Elena Marks. "This report clearly shows the need for outreach and enrollment efforts to continue to focus on Hispanic Texans who are uninsured but eligible for coverage."
Other things the report discovered include:
- Fifty-one percent (51%) of uninsured Hispanics in Texas have annual incomes below 139% of the federal poverty level. This translates roughly to approximated incomes of $16,000 for individuals or $33,000 for a family of four.
- The researchers estimated that 300,000 Texan Hispanics fall into the state’s health insurance “coverage gap,” wherein they earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to qualify for subsidies to help purchase ACA plans.
- Another 780,000 uninsured Hispanics in Texas remain undocumented and unable to secure ACA plans.
- While nearly one-third of Hispanic adults are uninsured, only 10% of white adults remain without health insurance.
- Although more Hispanic Texans are uninsured, the group enrolled in ACA plans at twice the rate of whites. Twenty-one percent (21%) of all insured Hispanics in Texas are covered by ACA plans, versus 11% of all whites in the state.
The report is the 22
nd in a series on the implementation of the ACA in Texas, reported
ScienceDaily.
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