Health & wellness
BY HANNAH NORTON
Health & Wellness Edition 2025
Readers, welcome to your annual CI Health & Wellness Edition! This brand new guide features the latest updates and resources on health and wellness in Cy-Fair. All of the stories were written by our team of local journalists. In this year’s edition, learn more about how a potential statewide ban on THC could a ect Cy- Fair retailers and what the growing GLP-1 trend means for local health care providers. Also, check out features on a local restaurant with a seasonal farm-to-table menu, an innovative mental health care provider and other local businesses.
Premium sponsors:
Danica Lloyd Senior Editor dlloyd@ communityimpact.com
Memorial Hermann Medical Group memorialhermann.org/community- cypress 832 658 MHMG (6464) The doctors you need, the name you can trust.
Houston Methodist Cypress Hospital HoustonMethodist.org/Cypress 713 790 3333
Houston Methodist Cypress Hospital opens March 17, and will be a full-scale, acute care hospital new to the Cypress community.
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Texas ranks No. 1 in uninsured rates
High health care costs
Nearly half of Texans have employer- sponsored health insurance.
About 5 million Texans, or 16.4% of the state population, did not have health insurance in 2023, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Texas’ uninsured rate was higher than any other state and more than twice the national rate of 7.9%. The big picture For three years in a row, Texas health insurance premiums have increased by over 5% annually, according to the Texas Association of Health Plans, which represents insurers. Blake Hutson, director of public a airs, said the Texas Legislature has also added more requirements in recent years. According to Texans for A ordable Healthcare, recent state mandates have limited the types of health coverage small businesses can o er, barred certain insurance providers from directing patients to mail-order pharmacies and more. Zooming in A lack of transparency is driving high health
insurance costs, senators said during a May 14 Texas Senate Health and Human Services Commit- tee hearing. Sen. Charles Perry, R Lubbock, said giving people the true costs of medical services could help lower insurance premiums. “There’s no incentive for insurance companies to pay less, and the system of health care delivery we have today demands the lack of transparency for it to work,” he said. One more thing Texas is one of 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid, which provides health coverage to low-income people. Texans can qualify for Medicaid based on a combination of factors, but residents can qualify based on income alone in states with expanded Medicaid. The state would spend about $700 million per year to expand Medicaid and would receive about $7 billion in federal funding, said Eva DeLuna Castro, a budget analyst in the Texas House.
About 68% of Texas’ 3.2 million small businesses do not o er health coverage for their employees. On average, Texas families pay $7,500 in annual employer-sponsored insurance premiums, while employers pay $15,000 per employee.
Where to get help Uninsured Texans can visit 75 federally quali ed health centers across 127 counties, which o er medical care regardless of insurance coverage or a patient’s ability to pay. Other options for people without health insurance include: • Texas’ Primary Health Care Program: Provides primary care services at clinics across the state • Healthy Texas Women: Offers free women’s health and family planning services • The Texas HIV Medication Program: Helps low-income Texans access medications to treat HIV and related complications SOURCE: TEXAS HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION, TEXICARE, TEXAS 2036 COMMUNITY IMPACT
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