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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
October 24, 2014 Camila Gallardo
cgallardo@nclr.org
(305) 215-4259
Local political leadership, economic, health care and policy experts provide critical insight as Election Day nears
EL PASO, TEXAS—Today at noon, NCLR (National Council of La Raza) joined Sen. José Rodríguez and the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce at a roundtable forum to discuss the impact of expanded health care coverage and the remaining coverage gaps that have disproportionately affected Latinos in Texas. The state has the nation’s largest population of uninsured Americans; nearly one-quarter of its residents—including 1.2 million children and 3 million Latinos. While many of Texas’ Latinos have been able to obtain coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace, thousands of others remain uninsured because they fall within the Medicaid coverage gap—they cannot afford traditional insurance and do not qualify for Medicaid because the state has, thus far, refused to accept federal funding to expand the program and guidelines for eligibility.
Eligibility for Medicaid in Texas is already one of the nation’s most restrictive—to qualify, a working family of four must make less than $4,500 in yearly income.
“Despite expanded access to health care coverage through the Insurance Marketplace, we still have a critically large population that is unable to obtain coverage because they fall within this coverage gap,” said Sonia Troche, Texas Regional Director, NCLR. “This is an issue that Latino voters are looking closely at—they want to see state leadership step up and find a coverage solution for some of our community’s most vulnerable.”
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, nearly 600,000 Hispanics who would have qualified for Medicaid will be denied coverage as a result of the state’s rejection of federal funding to help expand the program’s eligibility requirements. Given the statistically higher rate of chronic diseases among Latinos, that population is particularly vulnerable to the effects of the coverage gap. Supporters of Medicaid expansion include a cross-section of health, community and business leaders.
“The more we can do to convey the opportunity we are missing for all Texans to benefit from expanded health care access, which residents elsewhere in the country already are benefitting from, the better. NCLR and our local leadership did a great job explaining the issue during this important and informative event,” said Rodríguez.
Today, NCLR also sent letters to both Texas Gubernatorial candidates, Greg Abbott (R) and Wendy Davis (D), highlighting the need for expanded healthcare access for Latinos in the state and underscoring the importance of Medicaid expansion and its overall benefits to the health of the state’s residents as well as its recovering economy. Studies have shown that expanding Medicaid in the state would be critical in to state’s long-term economic recovery and prosperity—healthier workers help increase productivity and output. According to the same Kaiser study, had the state expanded Medicaid in 2012, it would have led to a surplus of $270 billion. Health care has been a priority issue for Hispanic voters, particularly in states like Texas, where Latinos have been so disproportionately impacted.
NCLR—the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States—works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans. For more information on NCLR, please visit www.nclr.org or follow along on Facebook and Twitter.
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