Children’s advocates say the difficulty in providing health coverage for poor families in Texas could be largely solved if the Build Back Better Act bill is approved by the U.S. Senate.
Anne Dunkelberg, associate director for the group Every Texan, said the legislation would provide a workaround for people who make less than $13,000 a year, allowing them to qualify for a free plan on the federal insurance marketplace.
She pointed out children are far more likely to thrive when they have access to health coverage.
“If we are fortunate enough to get this bill signed into law, we will have a coverage alternative for all of the working-poor parents that we have in Texas who are currently excluded from Medicaid,” Dunkelberg explained.
Medicaid is not available to nearly 800,000 Texans because the Lone Star State is one of 12 choosing not to expand the program through the Affordable Care Act. Opponents of Build Back Better argue it’s too costly.
At nearly 13%, the number of uninsured children in Texas was nearly double the national average in 2019.
