It was a different time. Back in 2000, 10% of Tarrant County kids were on Medicaid. By the end of 2010, it was 26%.
The data come from KIDS COUNT, an annual report on the well-being of children at the state and local levels from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. (By the way, these percentages don’t include kids enrolled in CHIP.) Our trend is no anomaly; it occurred in every county across the state. Overall, Texas went from 16% of kids in Medicaid in 2000 to 31% in 2010.
So, this may be the New Normal. The reason why I think that this is the New Normal is that the economy started improving in 2011 and 2012. Yet, we’re not seeing drops in Medicaid enrollment. I just downloaded the April 2012 numbers from the state, and enrollment jumped everywhere, including here.
- State enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP was up by more than 45,000 this month. Believe it or not, 10% of those kids live in Tarrant County. (Good work, child advocates here!)
- Since April 2011, state enrollment in children’s Medicaid and CHIP is up 6.4%. In Tarrant County, it’s up 9.1%
Click on the chart to enlarge.
Another reason I think this is the New Normal is I don’t see any indication that more Texas businesses will offer to pay for worker health insurance. In fact, the opposite is true, according to a survey this month by Texas Comptroller Susan Combs. While Texas continues to add jobs, lots of employers are shedding or cutting back on health coverage. More than 100 of the more than 900 business execs surveyed by the state said they have already reduced or eliminated coverage and a similar number anticipate doing so within the next 2 years.
Now, this could reverse in 2014 if the Affordable Care Act holds and employers that don’t provide coverage have to pay a penalty. So, maybe this is only the New Normal til then. We’ll have to wait to hear from the Supreme Court in July on that.
The KIDS COUNT Data Book is worth a read — although it’s a bit depressing. The Texas results warranted a front-page story in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Click here to read.
By the way, Tarrant County ranked 58th statewide by percent of uninsured children — 16.8%. It’s not great, but not bad among Texas’ 254 counties with the worst being Jeff Davis with a 29.3% rate. In fact, we fared pretty well among urban areas in Texas. Bexar County (home to San Antonio) was better at 13.6%.
To view all of the Tarrant County numbers, click here.
ChIP IN 