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Health care impacts Texas News The Prospector University of Texas at El Paso

HealthcareimpactsTexas
ByPamelaPrieto Published:Thursday,September10,2009 Updated:Monday,January18,201010:01

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Withmorethanaquarterofthepopulationuninsured,Texaswillbeoneofthestatesthatcould bemostimpactedbytheoutcomeofhealthcarereformthatseekstoguaranteemedical coverageforallAmericans. AccordingtodatafromTheKaiserCommissiononMedicaidandtheUninsured,in2007,Texas hadthehighestnumberofuninsuredcitizensinthenation.About27.5percentofTexanshadno healthcoverage,comparedtothenationalaverageof17.2percent. Acrossthenation,peoplearedebatingaboutHousebillHR3200,America'sAffordableHealth ChoicesActof2009,thatseekstoprovidequalityandaffordablehealthcaretoallAmericans, reduceoutofcontrolcostsandencouragecompetitionamonginsuranceproviderstoimprove choicesforpatients. Opponentstothebillarguethathealthcareshouldnotbeprovidedbythefederalgovernmentandareworriedaboutanoverwhelming publicdebt. Oneconservativegroup,GrassRootsElPaso,hasbeenspeakingoutagainstthelegislatureatvariouseventsthroughoutthecity. GennaPendergras,presidentofGrassRootsElPaso,statedontheirWebsitethat"addressingtaxcodechanges,statespecificneeds andcurrentMedicarespendingwouldinitiatethepathtoreformwithoutincreasingthefederaldeficitby$239billiondollarsasthe proposedlegislationisestimatedtodo." Supporters,however,arguethatthebillwouldguaranteebetteroptionsforpeoplewhocannotaffordhealthcareunderthecurrent system.Hispanicresidentsinparticularwillbelargelyaffected. AlmostthreemillionHispanicsaccountfor40percentoftheuninsuredpopulationinthestate,accordingtotheTexasMedical Association. Nationally,HispanicsaremorelikelythannonHispanicstohavechronicdiseases,includingdiabetesandobesity,accordingto statisticsformulatedbythePewHispanicCenter. "Ithink,asHispanics,wefearthehighpricesofhealthinsurance,whichcausesustoignorehowimportantitistohaveit,"saidLuisa Reyes,senioraccountingmajor. Asforcoverageproviders,thestatefallsshortinthenumberofavailablechoices.TheU.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices determinedthatthetoptwoinsuranceprovidersinTexasaccountfor59percentofthemarketshare.AtnumberoneisHSCS(Blue CrossBlueShield),whichamountsto39percentAetna,Inc.hasthesecondlargestportionat20percent. "Whenpeopletalkabouthealthcare,Ithinkpersonallytheproblemliesintheinsurancecompanies,"saidBaileyNeill,UTEPpolitical sciencegraduatestudent."Weneedtohaveinsurancecompaniesthatcovermorepeople(and)morepreexistingconditions." InElPaso,about33percentofresidentsareestimatedtohavenohealthcoverage,placingthecityatnumberthreeoftheTexas metropolitanareaswiththehighestpercentageofuninsuredpopulations,accordingtoTMA. AtUTEP,AmaliaDudzienski,directoroftheStudentHealthCenter,reportedthatlessthanhalfofthestudentsthatvisitthecenterclaim tohavehealthinsurance. "Ofthestudentswesee,38percentstatetheyhaveinsurance.Ofthatnumber,mostareinternationalstudentswhoarerequiredbylaw tocarryinsurance,"Dudzienskisaid."Ithinkourcommunityasawhole(ElPasoCounty)couldbenefitfromapublicinsuranceoption, becausesofewofusareinsured." ColleenO'Donnell,volunteerforOrganizingforAmerica,reportedthatinElPaso,theorganizationhadrecentlysurpassedtheirgoalof

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Health care impacts Texas News The Prospector University of Texas at El Paso

1,500signaturesinapetitiontosupportPresidentObama'sprinciplesforhealthcarereform. "Whenwe'vebeenoutinthecommunity,whereit'sjustpeopleoutwiththeirfamilies,whenwe'vetalkedtothousandsofpeopleinthe parkoverthepastthreeweeks,theresponsewe'vebeengettingisjustamazinglypositive,"O'Donnellsaid. O'Donnelladdedthattheydidencounterpeoplewhorefusedtosignthepetitionaskingiftheyagreedwithaffordablehealthcare, qualityhealthcareandchoice.However,theoverwhelmingresponseinElPasohasbeenpositiveforhealthcarereform. "Peoplearereallysupportinghealthcarereformaswe'regoingtothecommunityandthat'sexciting,"O'Donnellsaid. Still,manyElPasoansdonotbelievethatagovernmentrunpublicprogramisthesolutiontotheinordinateamountofuninsured residentsinTexas. "Youstillalwaysneedaprivateoption,freemarketsolutions,"Neilladded. RussellBooth,seniorinhistory,addedthat,"themorecompetitionthatthereis,thebettercompanieswilldrivedowncoststowinyour contract." PamelaPrietomaybereachedprospector@utep.edu.

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