Health Insurance Blog

There are about 6 million uninsured Texas residents according to the article “Jason Roberson nominates uninsured Texans, whose staggering health care costs affect us all” by Jason Roberson on The Dallas Morning News.

Texas continues to lead the nation in the percent of uninsured residents, with about one out of every 4 Texans walking around uninsured.  For Dallas health insurance, about 36% of residents under 65 will be uninsured in 2010 according to the state demographer.  The uninsured cost a lot of money as well.  Care for the uninsured in 2005 was about $4.6 billion and for 2010 it’s projected to cost about $6.5 billion according to the Texas Association of Health Plans in Austin.

This cost is paid in part by the insured residents.  For 2010, Texans and Texas employers pay $1800 pre family and $630 per individual in higher health insurance premiums to help cover the uninsured according to The Center for American Progress.  Higher hospital costs which are generated by expensive ER visits by the uninsured drive up health insurance costs for employers which in turn causes them to drop health insurance benefits for their employees.  This just adds to the number of uninsured as the vicious cycle continues.

This Monday, health officials in Dallas reported the 17th death linked to the H1N1 virus in Dallas County according to the article “Dallas County Reports 17th H1N1 Death” by WFAA.com staff on that website.  A 51 year old man with an underlying health issue passed away recently and was infected with H1N1 according to Dallas County Health and Human Services.

The health department has been urging everyone to get the H1N1 vaccine to protect themselves from getting severely ill.  The county has administered around 10,000 vaccines to residents without Dallas health insurance last week and they now have ran out.  There is no word yet when it will be made available. 

There are certain people on a priority list to get the vaccine.  These include pregnant women, health care workers, people who care for babies under 6 months old, and those between 6 mos and 24 years old and those 25-64 with health conditions.  Many are frustrated that there has been such an emphasis on getting the vaccine, yet it is challenging to find the vaccine in many parts of the country.

Dallas County will lead the state of Texas in the percent of kids without insurance according to the article “Dallas County Leads State In Uninsured Children” by Jason Roberson on dallasnews.com.  The rate of uninsured children in Dallas County is about triple the national average based on the report released by The Children’s Medical Center Dallas.

This is a statistic that is very upsetting for residents.  More than half of the 730,000 kids in Dallas County do not have full access to preventative health care.  The report, called “Beyond ABC: Growing Up in Dallas County”, uses state demographic data from 1998-2008 to research the well-being of resident children.

Dallas health insurance isn’t necessarily difficult to find, but families are having difficulty affording rising premiums.  Children’s and other hospitals support the initiative to get all children insured because it places them in the care of a regular doctor and eliminates expensive visits to the emergency room.  This can prevent the mounting of debt for hospitals.  31% of Dallas County children will be uninsured by 2010 unless something is done. 

Residents living in Dallas County, TX are eligible for a unique Dallas health insurance perk.  Dallas County’s prescription drug card covers pet’s medicines as well, according to the article on examiner.com by Rebecca Poling. 

The Dallas County Coast2Coast RX card offers huge savings on prescription drugs, up to 65%.  This includes pet prescriptions also.  There are no health restrictions nor are there any age or income requirements.  Both brand name and generic drugs are covered under this program. 

WalMart, Kroger, Walgreens, CVS, Sam’s Club, Target, Tom Thumb, Costco, Minyard and others are all participating pharmacies of the Dallas County Coast2Coast RX Card.  This card can mean big savings if you live in the eligible area.

The Texas Health Insurance Pool website gives some history and background to what the pool is and how it benefits Texas residents.

The Texas Legislature created the Texas Health Insurance Pool to provide Texas health insurance benefits to eligible Texans who are unable to get coverage from commercial insurance companies because of previous or current medical conditions. 

The Pool is also an alternative means for individual health insurance coverage which guarantees transferring coverage to qualified residents who lose their coverage under an employer based plan, a church plan, or a state plan.  This is mandated by the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, also known as HIPPAA.

If you are in the market for Dallas health insurance it’s valuable to know how Dallas hospitals rank.  DallasHealthInsurance.org has some information on their rankings. 

Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, TX, is ranked 15th among the best hospitals in the country for Gynecology.  It ranks 36th for treating kidney disease.  Children’s Medical Center is 15th place for Children’s Hospitals and is known for being a quality cancer treating facility.  This is according to US News and World Report.  The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center is 26th in Neurology and Neurosurgery in the nation.  Pretty impressive rankings for the city of Dallas.