Bush School Graduate Research Reveals Highest Health Uninsurance Rates In Texas
New research published in The Takeaway, a policy brief produced by the Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics, and Public Policy at the Texas A&M University Bush School of Government and Public Service, found that while uninsured rates in Texas declined from 2012 to 2016, the state still leads the nation in health uninsured rates.
Texas Lyceum Fellow Ashley Thomas, a 2018 Bush School Master of Public Service and Administration graduate, recently completed research on health insurance rates in Texas and worked under the guidance of Bush School Associate Professor Laura Dague to produce key findings on the trends in Texas’ health insurance rates.
Thomas also observed that Texas Medicaid income eligibility requirements are less generous than in other states and that federal policy changes will likely reverse the recent positive trends in Texas’ uninsured rates. Since a Texas Lyceum poll suggested that 64 percent of Texans believe it is important to reduce the number of individuals without health insurance, Thomas suggested that policymakers reexamine Medicaid eligibility limits and explore the efficiencies of automatic enrollment.
Thomas presented her research findings at the annual Texas Lyceum Public Conference in San Antonio, Texas, on Friday, Aug. 17.
The Texas Lyceum Fellowship provides an opportunity to develop research and analysis skills for Bush School students pursuing careers in public policy analysis. The fellowship was made possible through a partnership between the Texas Lyceum and the Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics, and Public Policy. The Texas Lyceum is an independent, nonpartisan institution dedicated to cultivating the state’s young leaders and promoting research-driven solutions to policy issues in Texas.
About the Texas Lyceum: The Texas Lyceum, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group is the premier statewide leadership organization focused on identifying the next generation of top Texas leaders. The Lyceum consists of ninety-six men and women from throughout the state who begin their six-year term while under the age of forty-six and have demonstrated leadership in their community and profession, together with a deep commitment to Texas. For more information, please visit www.texaslyceum.org. Texas Lyceum is on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/texaslyceum and on Twitter @TexasLyceum http://twitter.com/texaslyceum.
About the Mosbacher Institute: The Mosbacher Institute was founded in 2009 to honor Robert A. Mosbacher, Secretary of Commerce from 1989-1992 and key architect of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Through its three core programs—Integration of Global Markets, Energy in a Global Economy, and Governance and Public Services—the Institute conducts innovative policy research and top-quality education and training to help the decision makers of today and tomorrow meet the challenges posed by a new world of global markets and increasingly diffuse political and economic power.
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Media contact: Lori L. Taylor, Mosbacher Institute, 979 458-3015, lltaylor@tamu.edu, or Sarah Jackson, Director of the Texas Lyceum, (202) 422-5359, sarahjacksonsj@gmail.com.
