HOUSTON — Almost 1 million Texas children and teens went without health insurance at some point over the most recent year recorded. Many of them live in Houston, which has a higher rate of uninsured children than any other major metropolitan area in the nation.
Overall, Texas has the worst coverage rate for kids in the country, with nearly 12% going uninsured in 2023 — up from nearly 11% in 2022.
A number of issues are driving the numbers. But the fact that many uninsured Texas children are actually eligible for public insurance exposes what experts say are alarming gaps in the state’s enrollment and outreach system — gaps that can limit health-care access for low-income kids and endanger their health.
Among the issues is a backlog of thousands of families who applied for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP. For most of 2024, the average waiting time for a decision by the state was well over two months, which triggered a federal probe under the Biden administration. The application process remains tedious and confusing, requiring families to sometimes round up dozens of documents to prove they’re eligible. Some give up.
Source: Texas has the highest rate of uninsured children, and it’s getting worse / The Texas Tribune