This story is a part of a partnership that features KUT, NPR and Kaiser Health News.
This story may be republished without spending a dime (details).
Texans assume the Legislature ought to develop Medicaid to extra low-income folks and make well being care extra reasonably priced, in keeping with a survey launched Thursday.
Researchers surveyed 1,367 Texans between March and May of this yr about matters starting from Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, maternal mortality and the position of presidency in tackling well being care points.
Here are some takeaways from the survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Episcopal Health Foundation. (Kaiser Health News is an editorially impartial program of the Kaiser Family Foundation.)
1) Almost All Texans See A Role For The Texas Legislature
Texans overwhelmingly agree that the state ought to have a task in making well being programs work. According to the survey, 67 % of these surveyed mentioned the state ought to have a “major role” and 28 % mentioned a “minor role” in well being care. Only 5 % of Texans mentioned the state shouldn’t have any position.
“A majority of Texans say that the state has an important role to play in health care,” mentioned Elena Marks, the president and chief govt officer of the Episcopal Health Foundation. “The state is not doing enough and the state should spend more. And people also believe that the state has a role to play in increasing access to insurance.”
2) Texans Are Concerned About Maternal Deaths
When requested what the state Legislature ought to make a prime well being care precedence, 59 % of Texans mentioned “reducing the number of women who die from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.”
That response got here in a detailed second to “lowering the amount individuals pay for health care” (61 %).
Marks says she thinks loads of this concern might be associated to media coverage around maternal mortality and that the query itself can be a “no-brainer.”
“‘You mean people are dying from pregnancy and childbirth?’” she mentioned. “I think people may just look at that and go, ‘Well, of course you should be doing something about that.’”
three) Medicaid Expansion Is Popular
About two-thirds of Texans (64 %) mentioned they assume Texas ought to develop Medicaid to cowl extra low-income folks. Texas is 1 of the 17 states that haven’t expanded Medicaid below the Affordable Care Act.
Even although emotions within the state are nonetheless blended on the ACA, the survey discovered that Medicaid is kind of in style.
“Roughly 4 million people are covered by Medicaid in Texas, nearly three-quarters of whom are children,” in keeping with the survey’s authors. When requested, 6 in 10 Texans mentioned Medicaid is necessary to their households.
Marks mentioned she thinks the dialog about Medicaid growth in Texas is limiting for folks in search of extra insurance coverage protection right here. She says the state ought to have a dialog about developing with its personal solution to develop entry to reasonably priced protection, which is a well-liked thought throughout the political spectrum.
“Let’s stop talking about Medicaid expansion and let’s start talking about expanding access to affordable health insurance coverage,” Marks mentioned.
Email Sign-Up
Subscribe to KHN’s free Morning Briefing.
four) Texans Say We Aren’t Helping The Poor Enough
Roughly two-thirds of Texans additionally say the state will not be doing sufficient to verify low-income folks get the well being care they want.
Respondents additionally assume lawmakers may do extra to assist youngsters (45 %) and immigrants (41 %) get protection. Broken down by celebration, Republicans had been much less more likely to say that the state will not be doing sufficient to assist weak populations get well being care providers.
5) A Lot Of Texans Don’t Know Basic Facts About Health Care Here
One of the standouts on this survey is how little folks know in regards to the state’s well being care system. Consistently, nevertheless, Republican respondents had been extra more likely to be misinformed.
For instance, teams requested Texans whether or not the state’s uninsured price is increased in comparison with different states. According to the survey, three in 10 Texans (31 %) accurately reply that it’s increased. Broken down by celebration, solely 24 % of Republicans knew Texas has a bigger than common share of uninsured folks, whereas 38 % of Democrats did.
Marks says that would clarify why Republicans are much less more likely to say they assume there are issues with the state’s well being care system.
“If you think we have about the same or lower uninsured rates, then you don’t think there’s a problem unique to us that we need to solve,” she mentioned.
Texans had been additionally requested whether or not Medicaid had been expanded within the state; 51 % of these surveyed accurately mentioned the state had not expanded it.
According to the examine’s authors, “Democrats are somewhat more likely than Republicans and independents to know that Texas has not expanded its Medicaid program” (62 %, 43 %, and 52 %, respectively).
This story is a part of a partnership that features KUT, NPR and Kaiser Health News.
This story is a part of a partnership that features KUT, NPR and Kaiser Health News.
This story may be republished without spending a dime (details).
KHN’s protection of ladies’s well being care points is supported partially by The David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
Ashley Lopez, KUT: [email protected]”>[email protected], @@AshLopezRadio
Related Topics Medicaid States The Health Law Polls Texas Women’s Health src=”http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-Eight”>
