The COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented in its scale and in our reaction to it. Texas must confront economic and health challenges with decisive leadership. While we have taken some positive steps, there is a glaring void that we have continually not addressed. Nearly 5 million Texans are uninsured, and unable to access the testing and care they need during this crisis. Medicaid expansion would give us the necessary tools to combat this pandemic.
This virus knows no bounds. It doesn’t discriminate based on income or status. Our reaction to it, however, has shown how fragile our health care system really is in Texas. Now, even the doctors and other providers we depend on are living paycheck to paycheck. Layoffs at hospitals and closures of medical and dental offices have shown us that COVID-19 only increases the burden on all Texas families.
The COVID-19 reaction has shown us something we already knew — everyone suffers because of Texas’ high uninsured rate. The whole health care system is burdened by ever-increasing premiums for families and businesses, and lower productivity.
In addition, our “essential” workers, especially those who work at nursing homes, grocery stores and restaurants, often don’t have health insurance from their employers or other sources. The Texans most at risk due to continual exposure don’t have access to the health care they need to combat the virus.
Texas has held the record for the most uninsured in the nation for years. It’s a record we should be ashamed of for many reasons. In the state’s urban areas, for example, approximately 1 in 5 people lacks insurance. The challenge is greater in rural and border communities, with uninsured rates up to 36 percent. We also have considerable racial disparities, with minorities having much higher uninsured rates and worse health outcomes.
We cannot ignore the impact of the virus on Latino and African American communities. In San Antonio, Hispanics and African Americans are overrepresented in the number of COVID-19 cases.
We can no longer allow the health of Texans to be dictated by their ZIP codes, race or ethnicity. All Texans and the state’s economy will benefit when we increase access to health care. This can be done with a stroke of the governor’s pen. Medicaid expansion would immediately provide coverage to 1.5 million Texans, approximately 78,000 of them residents of Bexar County.
Increasing access to health care simultaneously would stimulate our economy. Economists estimate that expanding Medicaid would infuse approximately $8 billion annually into the Texas economy, increase gross state product by $29.4 billion over the first two years, generate a 331 percent return on investment over 10 years and pump more than $500 million annually in new Medicaid funds into Bexar County. These billions of dollars would be crucial as we work to recover from the impact of this virus and would go a long way toward balancing the state’s budget.
Expanding Medicaid is not a partisan issue. With leaders from both parties, 36 states have taken unique approaches to increasing access to health care for their residents. All Texas leaders should do the right thing. To begin with, we urge the governor to use his executive authority to expand Medicaid. Texans’ health and livelihood depend on it.
The Texas Senate Democratic Caucus is comprised of Chair Carol Alvarado of Houston, Vice Chair Nathan Johnson of Dallas, Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa of Mission, Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. of Brownsville, Sen. José Menéndez of San Antonio, Sen. Borris Miles of Houston, Sen. Beverly Powell of Fort Worth, Sen. José Rodríguez of El Paso, Sen. Kirk Watson of Austin, Sen. Royce West of Dallas, Sen. John Whitmire of Houston and Sen. Judith Zaffirini of Laredo.