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We drive policy change to improve the lives of Texas children today for a stronger Texas tomorrow.

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Dear John,

I wanted to make sure you saw the article, "The Extraordinary Danger of Being Pregnant and Uninsured in Texas ([link removed])," published last week by Vox and ProPublica. Here's a short excerpt:

Rosa started to shiver and cry. “Let me drive you to the emergency room,” Diana urged. “No, I don't have insurance,” Rosa protested. “I just want to go to sleep. I’m sure I’ll feel better tomorrow."

Rosa, a 43-year-old Mexican immigrant who became a U.S. citizen in the 1990s, rarely saw doctors. She was employed through temp agencies, mostly working in factories and cleaning schools — jobs that didn’t offer insurance or pay enough to let her afford her own policy.....

Around 3 a.m., she heard her mother scream. Rosa’s fallopian tube had exploded, and three liters of blood — almost two-thirds of her total volume — was gushing into her abdomen. By the time paramedics delivered her to the Baylor University Medical Center emergency room in Dallas, her heart had stopped.

When Diana thinks back on the night her mother died, and what was most on her mind, she still gets angry — “because instead of wanting to feel better, she was more worried about the cost.”

The article is a tragic, vivid reminder that the high Texas uninsured rate — the highest in the nation and getting worse — has devastating consequences for moms, babies, and other Texans.

As you know, Medicaid and other health coverage options are typically unavailable in Texas to women who work in low-wage jobs that don't offer insurance, except while they're pregnant. As a result, one of every four Texas women is uninsured. While there are numerous ways to improve health care in Texas, health insurance is the foundation of health care.  

After the Legislature passed zero bills during the 2019 session to reduce the uninsured rate for kids, moms, or other Texans, we are glad to see some momentum building to make health coverage a priority during the next legislative session. In fact, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen have both instructed legislative committees to study ways to reduce the uninsured rate ([link removed]) through their "interim charges," a welcome first step.

To help us make sure that health coverage is a priority during the next legislative session, we encourage you to share the "Pregnant and Uninsured" article with state leaders, legislators, and candidates — and ask them how they plan to reduce the uninsured rate.

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It's important to remember that the high uninsured rate is largely a result of state policies, so it affects Texans of all backgrounds and communities.

For example, Texas children of all races and ethnicities — White kids, Black kids, Hispanic kids, Native American kids, and Asian kids — all have a higher uninsured rate ([link removed]) than the national children uninsured rate.

It's also important to remember that there are numerous steps the Legislature could take to reduce the uninsured rate, such as reducing red tape for eligible kids in Medicaid, restoring children's health coverage outreach efforts, expanding health coverage for new moms to a full year after childbirth, or accepting federal Medicaid expansion funding to cover child care teacher, home health aides, cashiers, and other uninsured low-wage workers. 

We look forward to working with you to support healthy moms and kids next session by reducing the Texas uninsured rate!

Sincerely,

Adriana Kohler
Policy Director @AKohlerTX ([link removed])

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