For Immediate Release: October 13, 2000

San Francisco, CA -- There are over 40 federal programs and numerous state and county programs that specifically provide health-care services for the uninsured in Texas, in addition to health-care services provided by private charities and non-profit organizations, according to a recent report on the uninsured in Texas.

"The fact that a Texas resident does not have health insurance does not mean that they can’t get health-care services when they need them," said Naomi Lopez Bauman, of the Pacific Research Institute. "There’s no shortage of resources dedicated to health care, but the government has created a situation where they’ve made it more difficult for people to purchase health insurance on their own."

The report, Uninsured in the Lone Star State, by Ms. Lopez Bauman, who is a native Texan, and Devon M. Herrick, was published by the Texas-based National Center for Policy Analysis   in late August. The report reveals that the Texas uninsured rate is largely the result of demographics.

"Wherever they live, young adults, single people, Hispanics and non-citizens tend to remain uninsured in higher proportions than the overall population – and Texas has greater numbers of each than most states," explain the authors.

"Young people often choose not to buy health insurance because they are healthy, and Hispanics and immigrants don’t rely as heavily on the more traditional American health care systems," said Lopez Bauman. "A lot of people don’t sign up for Medicaid and CHIPs because they don’t think they need it. These are people that, although they’re technically counted as uninsured, are in fact covered in the event that they need health care."

The report places the bulk of the blame for the uninsured rate in Texas on federal government tax policy and the large number of health benefit mandates that increase the cost of health insurance. Lopez Bauman advises that better options would include making it easier for people who do not have employment-based health care to purchase health insurance on their own, to meet their own needs and preferences, and using current government health-care dollars to subsidize low-income earners to do the same.

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To schedule an interview with Ms. Lopez Bauman, please contact Dawn Dingwell at (415) 989-0833, ext. 136.