November 15, 2023      3:55 PM

Report: Texas saw progress on insurance coverage in height of pandemic, but is slipping again amid inaction from Abbott

“No state does a worse job at renewal than Texas”

A new report from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families found the number of children insured under Medicaid in Texas and elsewhere increased during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

But with pandemic-era continuing coverage ending, those numbers are declining as part of the so-called “Medicaid unwinding” removing otherwise qualified people from the program, which is also the largest insurance program in the country for children.

According to the report, nationally 3.9 million children were uninsured in 2022 – tying 2017 for the second-lowest number in recent memory. The uninsured rate for children was 5.1 percent in 2022, compared to 5.7 percent. in 2019.

Texas made gains in that period, but still was dead last for coverage and has six of the top 10 worst metro areas nationwide for children’s coverage: Sherman, the Rio Grande Valley, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Midland, Abilene, and El Paso.

By James Russell

Copyright November 15, 2023, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved