2022 HEALTH CARE EDITION
Researchers with Texas A&M Univer- sity released a study into the economic e ects of Medicaid expansion in 2019. The study found expanding Med- icaid would make about 17,000 more people eligible in Fort Bend County and result in about 13,000 new enroll- ments. This would come at a cost of around $73.5 million to the federal gov- ernment and $8.2 million to Texas. Ahead of the next legislative session in January, several local representa- tives said Medicaid is top of mind. Those opposed to expansion said Texas would still be on the hook for about $500 million in program costs and questioned the e ects it would have on improving health care out- comes in the state. But Paret said the cost is unavoidable. “You pay for it one way or another,” she said. “If you deal with health issues early, they’re going to have less impact and less cost. If you wait because peo- ple don’t have access to care until they’re advanced, there’s more cost.”
COST OF EXPANSION To date, 12 U.S. states have not adopted Medicaid expansion, including Texas. Researchers with Texas A&M University calculated what the cost would be to the state and the federal government to expand in each Texas county.
Expanded Medicaid Has not expanded Medicaid
MEDICAID ENROLLMENT PER 100,000 PEOPLE
NEW YORK 35,809
FORT BEND COUNTY
Enrollment: 96,125* WITH STATE EXPANSION
CALIFORNIA 33,956
New eligibility: 17,000 New enrollment predicted: 13,000 WITH STATE EXPANSION Cost to federal government: $73.48M
TEXAS 17,831
FLORIDA 20,840
Cost to Texas: $8.16M
*AS OF OCTOBER 2021SOURCES: U.S. CENSUS BUREAU, KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION, TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
option to expand Medicaid coverage to nearly all adults with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level, an annual income of $17,774 for an indi- vidual in 2021, according to the KFF. Texas is among 12 states that have not expanded Medicaid. Of those 12
states, Texas also has set the high- est bar for people to qualify based on income, only allowing people to enroll if they make less than $103 per month. “Fort Bend County has a lower propor- tion of uninsured residents than many other counties in Texas; however, there
are some areas across our community where health care insurance coverage is at a much lower rate,” Minter said in an email. “The expansion of Medicaid would likely result in part of this unin- sured population becoming eligible for federal health care programs.”
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
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SUGAR LAND MISSOURI CITY EDITION • JUNE 2022
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