Texas Leaders Should Stop Blocking Medicaid Expansion

Texas leaders continue to block Medicaid expansion, which would offer a health insurance option to Texas adults with incomes below the poverty line and those just barely above the line. The federal government pays 90 percent of the cost of Medicaid expansion, meaning Texas would likely save money by implementing expansion.

Here’s a look at some of the reasons why Texas leaders should stop blocking Medicaid expansion:

Medicaid Expansion is good for Texas

Forty states have implemented Medicaid expansion over the past 10 years — and every single one has kept it in place. These states represent a broad range of the political and economic spectrum. Medicaid expansion would work for Texas — like research shows it works for the vast majority of the United States — and bring in billions in federal dollars each year. Other non-expansion states are actively considering proposals to expand Medicaid, including Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, and Kansas. Texans overwhelmingly support Medicaid expansion. Yet Texas leaders continue to reject this lifesaving coverage and financial lifeline for our health system. 

Medicaid Expansion is good for Texans

Estimates show almost 730,000 Texans would benefit from Medicaid expansion. Uninsured Texans in virtually every county in the state would be newly eligible for coverage. Many of these people have no current door to coverage because they currently make too much for Medicaid and too little for Affordable Care Act Marketplace subsidies. These Texans in the coverage gap are largely uninsured, meaning they are not receiving preventive care or care for chronic conditions and can only access care in the emergency room. There are both short- and long-term physical and financial health benefits when people have health coverage, and these benefits spread to their families and communities. Medicaid Expansion has shown to be especially important for access to coverage in rural areas.

Medicaid Expansion is good for Texas’ health system and economy

Medicaid expansion makes hospital closures less likely, especially in rural parts of the state. Expanding Medicaid has been shown to lead to higher salaries for primary care providers, which would help to chip away at our state’s shortage of providers. Expansion of coverage can lead to more productivity from a healthier state-wide workforce across industries. Medicaid expansion has been shown in other states to lead to job creation and to make conditions better for people to look for and secure employment.