Texas is reporting some of the highest COVID-19 case numbers in the country- 668,746 cases as of September 15th. The virus has reached every corner of the state and Brazos County is no exception. By the same September 15th date, the county had 5,743 cases and 60 deaths.
Texans know healthcare is too expensive to pay for without health insurance, and Texas is now learning the risks of what can happen when too many people don’t have access to healthcare. While the pandemic may be caused by factors outside our control, our health crisis has been years in the making. Rural healthcare systems have been hit the hardest across the state.
A succession of Texas governors and legislators have campaigned against expanding Medicaid and continue to play politics with public health. State Representative John Raney (R-Bryan/College Station) is one of them.
One way legislators could ensure low-income Texans have healthcare is by accepting Medicaid expansion funds. There are billions of dollars in federal funding available, and an estimated 1.1 million working Texans would be eligible for coverage and care under Medicaid expansion, yet the Texas Legislature refuses to take advantage.
When polled, almost all Texans agree – the Legislature should expand Medicaid and work to make healthcare more affordable. Despite this broad public support, Raney and other Texas legislators have opposed Medicaid expansion for years, making the health of Texans pawns in a political game against the federal government. Raney proved he was no friend to the uninsured by voting against Medicaid expansion.
When Texas turns down Medicaid funding, they bet against rural hospitals. According to the Texas Organization of Rural and Community Hospitals, 26 rural hospitals in 22 communities have closed in Texas since 2010, nearly double the number of closures of any state and about one-fifth of the total closures around the country over the past ten years.
These closures, which could have been avoided with expanded Medicaid funding, have made it far more difficult for families to access quality healthcare or emergency room services. In fact, in nearby Milam, Houston, and Trinity counties hospitals have already closed.
The coronavirus is exposing what many patient and healthcare advocates already knew – our healthcare infrastructure is fragile, and years of partisanship and underfunding have placed the health of Texans at risk.
In refusing to expand Medicaid, John Raney and other lawmakers have limited access to coverage and care Texans need more than ever. It’s time for the Legislature to stop playing politics and to protect the health of working Texas families.
