The Affordable Health Care Act
The Kaiser Family Foundation provides a wonderful summary by topic of the contents of the new law. They also provide a summary in atime line format, showing when each piece is added. If anyone asks you questions about the legislation, you can refer them to this link.
Health Insurance and Texas
Published 6/3/09. SOURCE: Kreisberg & Associates, Coppell, Texas; www.kreisbergandassociates.com
• One in four Texans (5.6 million of us) are uninsured. That’s the highest rate in all 50 states. The national average is 16%. In all, 46 million Americans are uninsured.
• 79% of the uninsured work or have a working family member.
• 70% of Texas businesses employ fewer than 50 people. Only 37% of those small businesses offer health insurance benefits to their employees, and only 35% of their employees are able to take advantage of those benefits.
• Approximately 76-82% of the uninsured are U.S. citizens. 70% are Anglo.
WHY ARE SO MANY TEXANS UNINSURED?
• The average cost of health insurance premiums (currently $9,100 annually for a family) is almost half of the federal poverty limit.
• Texas has extremely restrictive qualifications for Medicaid, and most lower-income adults do not qualify. (The Texas Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) covers children in families making less than 200% of the poverty level, but does not provide coverage for adults.)
WHAT IS THE RESULT OF SO MANY UNINSURED FAMILIES?
• 2,500 uninsured Texans die prematurely each year.
• 1 million uninsured Texans do not receive adequate care for their chronic illnesses.
• 3 million uninsured Texans are less likely to seek and receive critical preventative care and screening services that minimize more costly medical care later.
• The responsibility of providing healthcare to the uninsured or underinsured increases the cost of healthcare and health insurance to those who do have health insurance, through higher taxes and higher healthcare costs.
HOW DOES THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT HELP?
GET ALL THE DETAILS AT Healthcare.gov