Speaking of health insurance and of
Texas' 25.7% uninsured rate This is What the TMA has to say about it:
Medical Impact of Lacking Health Insurance
The uninsured are up to four times less likely to have a regular source of health care and are more likely to die from health-related problems. They are much less likely to receive needed medical care, even for symptoms that can have serious health consequences if not treated. About one in four Texans lives at or below the poverty level; for children, it's nearly one in three. Extending health coverage to the uninsured could improve their overall health by 7 to 8 percent. Lack of insurance increases their dependence on Medicaid.
Financial Impact of Texas' Uninsured Crisis
Lacking a medical home, uninsured people tend to look for health care in the emergency room, the most expensive setting they could possibly choose. Nationally, patients made over 123 million emergency room visits in 2008. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that about 8 percent (9.9 million) of ER visits are for non-urgent issues that could be treated in a doctor's office or clinic.
Using Medicaid payment rates and data on Medicaid patients' unnecessary emergency room visits, the Legislative Budget Board estimates that a condition that could be treated in a doctor's office for $56.21 (including lab and x-ray) costs $193.92 in the emergency room. National studies back up that data, finding, for example, that the charge for treating an ear infection in the emergency room is $170 versus $55 in a family physician's office.
Taxpayers, Texans with insurance, and employers who offer health benefits also pay extra for caring for the uninsured. Families USA estimated the total cost for Texas in 2005 to be more than $9.2 billion. Of that:
The patients and their families pay about half ($4.6 billion);
Government health programs pay one-sixth ($1.6 billion); and
Those with private health insurance subsidize the remaining third ($3 billion).
Texas hospitals spent about $208 million treating uninsured trauma patients in 2003. To cover these costs, hospitals charge insured patients higher prices, which in turn drives up insurance premiums. In what Families USA calls a "vicious cycle," those increased costs are added to already-rising health insurance premiums, leading more employers to drop coverage, and leaving even more people without insurance. That further adds to premiums for the insured and further boosts the roles of the uninsured.
In 2005, typical premiums for family health insurance coverage provided by private employers in the U.S. include an extra $922 in premiums due to the cost of care for the uninsured. In Texas, because of the very large percentage of uninsured, that figure is $1,551. By 2010, the national average will catch up to Texas' current figure; by then, the annual cost per Texas family will soar to $2,786.
- See more at:
The Uninsured in Texas
But we all know you really don't care about Texas or its citizens.
eace
