Texas uninsured rate drops to 1990s level

A study released Tuesday shows that the rate of Texans without insurance has dropped to its lowest point since the late 1990s because of the Affordable Care Act, Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy and the Episcopal Health Foundation reported.

Prior to the implementation of the ACA in September 2013, the uninsured rate in Texas was about 26 percent - more than one in four. By this March, that rate had dropped to about 18 percent, the study said.

Researchers found declines in every age group, ethnic and racial demographic, and across income levels. Texans between the ages of 50 and 64 showed the steepest decline, dropping to 10 percent from 21 percent during that time period.

Those with low to modest incomes of $16,000 and $47,000 also showed big gains in coverage. Their rate of uninsured is now about 13 percent compared to 23 percent in 2013.

"For more than a decade prior to the ACA, the uninsured rate remained above 20 percent and was rising. It's now clear that it's moving in the opposite direction and the ACA deserves the credit," Elena Marks, president and CEO of Episcopal Health Foundation, said in a statement Tuesday.

Despite progress, Texas continues to lead the nation in the number and rate of the uninsured.

In fact, the new study shines a light on a gaping hole in coverage across the state. Nearly half, or 46 percent, of Texans earning less than $16,000 per year remain uninsured, the report shows.

"The ACA as implemented in Texas offers little hope for Texans with the lowest incomes," Marks said in her statement.

Those people fall into the so-called coverage gap, which means they do not qualify for the existing Medicaid program yet do not earn enough to take advantage of the federal subsidies put in place by the law to help lower premium price.

The new study is part of an ongoing series designed to measure the ACA's implementation in Texas.

A separate report released earlier this month by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also showed a sharp decline of the uninsured rate in the state. It found that as of the end of 2015 the rate had fallen to 16.8 percent. Policy experts say the slight difference between the studies are probably due to methodology.

Nationally the rate of uninsured has fallen to a historic low of 9.1 last year, the CDC report found.