On Sept. 4, Texas was the subject of a New York Times op-ed piece along side Florida after a census bureau report revealed that the two states have the highest uninsured populations in the country. Coincidently, these states have seen some of the strongest political pushback against the Affordable Care Act (ACA), widely known as Obamacare.
According to a recent census bureau report, more than 25 percent of the population in Texas under age 65 (5.7 million people) was uninsured in 2011, the highest rate in the nation.
Bexar County is no exception to this trend, as the report shows that just over 23 percent of its residents were uninsured in 2011.
The implications of the ACA and the actions of Texas leaders has a great affect on the Texas populous. It merits close examination for those even remotely concerned with the future of their health care and the associated expenses that come along with it.
One effect of this policy on college students includes a provision that allows students to stay on their parents’ health care plans until age 26, even if they are married or a dependent. Campus insurance plans will also be prohibited from placing lifetime limits on coverage, and if you are on a school plan and undergo a severe medical issue, you will be covered no matter how high your medical costs are.
According to the Washington Post, Texas dropped to 48th in the national standings for voter turnout in 2012. The election collected votes from only 50.1 percent of the eligible voting population.
These numbers mark a trend in the wrong direction as ACA has pushed fervent political discourse leading a divided congress to a stalemate as the prospect of a government shutdown looms while the Sept. 30 budgetary voting deadline steadily approaches. This prospective shutdown comes in light of many Republican Senators pushing for the defunding of ACA. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has vowed to filibuster and use any other procedural move possible to defund Obamacare.
As Texas leaders determine the fate of ACA, it is paramount that Texas voters key in to the discourse and determine whether the elected representatives are truly representing their interests.
