Texas Health Resources - The Business of Healthcare

The Business of Health Care Report
Proposals for the rising uninsured - February 2001

In a previous report, I shared information about the uninsured: 25 percent of the population in Texas. The uninsured are likely to be in the following categories:

Those eligible but not participating in public health programs
The working uninsured, with wages unable to afford employer-based programs
The young worker or student, who is no longer covered through parental insurance or believes their good health does not warrant the cost of insurance
Or, the self-employed, unable to get affordable individual, family or small group coverage.

In this report, I'll focus on some of the proposals being considered to solve this social dilemma. The Texas Hospital Association has developed a special advisory committee to present a series of policy recommendations to the 77^th Texas Legislature. The goal is to reduce the uninsured population in Texas from 25 to 15% by developing a multi-year plan to deal with diverse populations and issues.

For children, the proposals include

Removing barriers for not participating in Medicaid
Changing Medicaid policies to develop 12-month continuing eligibility regardless of income changes during the year
Increasing eligibility efforts through outreach in hospitals
And developing incentives encouraging employers to provide employment-based coverage for dependents.

For adults, the proposals include

Removing mandates that insurance provide coverage for unnecessary services
Mandating catastrophic coverage for all Texans including requiring proof of auto insurance
Expanding the definition of small employer from 50 to 100 employees
Expanding the definition of dependent by allowing adult children in college or living at home to be included in coverage
And finally, requiring health insurance for students at colleges and universities.

At the national level, three groups have united to offer proposals to provide health insurance to about half of America's uninsured: The American Hospital Association, the Health Insurance Association of America and Families USA, a consumer group.

The organizations have called for federal tax credits and expansion of Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program to aid families with incomes up to twice the poverty level. Their goal? Cooperative efforts that could point the way to bipartisan legislation for President Bush and Congress.

You can contact me about the Business of Health Care Report at DougHawthorne@TexasHealth.org.

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