Acerca de Texas 2036

who are the
uninsured?

More than 16%, nearly 5 million Texans, of the population is uninsured – the largest percentage of any state and more than double the national average.

In response, Texas 2036 conducted a multi-year study to identify systemic, behavioral and psychological obstacles to Texans having access to Texans gaining affordable coverage.

Our Key Findings:

Medicaid expansion alone won’t solve Texas’ uninsured crisis – only 15% of it.
Many uninsured Texans have middle-class incomes.
Nearly twice as many uninsured Texans are eligible for a free ACA plan as are in the “coverage gap.”
Most uninsured Texans want health insurance.
The most cited reasons among uninsured Texans for not having health coverage are related to employment.

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UNDERUTILIZED PROGRAMS CONTRIBUTE TO A HIGH UNINSURED RATE

who are the uninsured eligibility chart

Of the uninsured population, we estimate that a majority (56%) are eligible for either ACA subsidies, Medicaid, or CHIP. These groups comprise nearly 2.7 million of the state’s 4.9 million uninsured individuals. And for populations eligible for subsidized health insurance through the ACA, many appear to be eligible for subsidies large enough to cover the full premium cost of at least one plan.

An additional 14.9% – the “Maybe ACA” Kids and Adults slices in the chart above – are individuals with incomes over 400% of the Federal Poverty Level who may currently be eligible for ACA subsidies under the temporary subsidy eligibility rules passed by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and renewed by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

LEARN MORE ABOUT TEXAS’ UNINSURED