Health Care in Texas: Not the Success the Governor Would Have you Believe

Prescription for Residents:  Just Don’t Get Sick

Once the brouhaha over Social Security is over, the battle for the Presidential nomination of the Republican party will turn to issues like health care.  Mitt Romney is considered vulnerable on the issue because his plan enacted in Massachusetts called for citizens to be required to have health insurance coverage.  Texas Gov. Rick Perry is considered vulnerable because of the  high number of uninsured in his state.

The Los Angeles Times recently undertook the unpleasant task to take a look at health care and health insurance in Texas under Gov. Perry.  Here are some of the things they found out.  First of all they report on the position of Mr. Perry that health care is a state issue and that Texas is doing fine and does not need the federal government to play a role.

“When Texas went to court last year to block President Obama's healthcare overhaul, Gov. Rick Perry pledged to do everything in his power to "protect our families, taxpayers and medical providers." Texas, he said, could manage its own healthcare.”

But what the LA Time concluded was this



No Insurance, No Passing by These people to get care



“working Texans increasingly have been priced out of private healthcare while the state's safety net has withered, leaving millions of state residents without medical care.”

See one reason for the mandate to require insurance is that those who are uninsured still get medical help, but someone else pays for it.  This is the rationale adopted by Mr. Romney in Massachusetts to support his plan, and Texas illustrates the why.

“More than a quarter of Texans lack health insurance, the highest rate in the nation, placing a crushing burden on hospitals and doctors who treat patients unable to pay.

Those costs are passed to the insured. Insurance premiums have risen more quickly in Texas than they have nationally over the last seven years. And when compared with incomes, insurance in Texas is less affordable than in every state but Mississippi, according to the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund”

So by not requiring health insurance, Texas drives up the cost of insurance and the result is less people can afford to buy insurance so the uninsured number rises.

So how good is health care in Texas.  Well if you are wealthy or have good insurance it is very good.  There are great clinics and hospitals in the state.  If you have cancer going to MD Anderson in Houston is a fine choice.  On the other hand there is this.

“nearly a third of the state's children did not receive an annual physical and a teeth cleaning in 2007, placing Texas 40th in a state ranking . . . Over the last decade, infant mortality rates have risen in Texas while declining nationwide”

and this

“Seniors, despite guaranteed Medicare coverage, also are suffering, as nearly 1 in 5 ends up back in the hospital within a month of being released, one of the highest readmission rates in the country”

And this

“At Shannon Medical Center, San Angelo's largest hospital, 30% of patients coming to the ER lack coverage, close to twice the national rate.

And at the San Jacinto Elementary School clinic, exam rooms fill up with the children of working parents who don't have insurance or a regular doctor”

So what has Texas done?  Well they have passed strict malpractice laws, the preferred solution to health care by all Conservatives.  This has apparently have done little good for either the cost or availability of basic health care, and they did do this



Medical Care for Low Income Families in Texas



“This year, the governor and state Legislature slashed funding to train physicians to less than half of what it was a decade ago. Another initiative highlighted by Perry's office to aid community health centers was also cut.

That came atop $800 million in cuts to hospitals and other medical providers that serve poor children, pregnant women and others who rely on Medicaid”

Mr. Perry does not want Washington to interfere in his state’s health care system.  Fine Mr. Perry, do a much better job than you are doing and the Feds won’t need to interfere.