An Overview of Healthcare in Texas
Texas has more hospitals than any other state, and the capital city, Austin, is one of the healthiest cities in America.
However, the Lone Star State’s healthcare system is ranked as the third worst in the country, with access to healthcare, quality of care and avoidable hospital spending all receiving low scores.
Additionally, the area’s public health concerns include obesity, with its prevalence in Texas adults doubling between 1995 and 2010, and excessive drinking, which results in over 6,500 deaths each year in Texas alone. According to The Dallas Morning News, politics, a high poverty rate and illegal immigration contribute to these rankings and issues.
In 2006, Texas started up a program called Code Red to tackle the fact that over 25 percent of the population was without health insurance. Fast forward to present day, and the state still sits in last place nationally, when it comes to the highest number and the highest percentage of uninsured people.
Recent data shows that the percentage had gone down to 18.4 percent in 2019, but that was still twice the national average and only got worse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some possible ways to help ease this problem include investments in enrollment assistance for public insurance programs and market-based insurance coverage, telemedicine and plans like the Paycheck Protection Program, as detailed by the Texas Comptroller of Public Account.
Additionally, advocacy efforts can help keep individuals, organizations and businesses informed and can help with making decisions surrounding healthcare in Texas and beyond. Lobbying such as this can include plans for legislative and regulatory initiatives, research, media relations, procurement and more.
This work defines strategies, creates opportunities and delivers solutions...all steps in the right direction for the Lone Star State.
