AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN -- While Texas continued to top out as the state with the highest percentage of uninsured residents, Travis County saw its percentage of insured people increase nearly three points in 2017, according to new U.S. Census Bureau numbers released Thursday.
About 11.9 percent of Travis County residents were uninsured last year, compared with 14.4 percent in 2015, the Census Bureau reported.
Among the 10 most-populated metropolitan areas in Texas, the Austin-Round Rock area had the second-lowest uninsured rate at 11.7 percent. That figure was about a third of the 30 percent uninsured rate for the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metro area, the highest percentage in the state.
U.S. Census Bureau figures show that 17.3 percent of Texas residents didn’t have health insurance in 2017.
In Travis County, ranks of uninsured declined from 14.4 percent in 2015 to 11.9 percent in 2017.
While Texas continued to top out as the state with the highest percentage of uninsured residents, Travis County saw its percentage of insured people increase nearly three points in 2017, according to new U.S. Census Bureau numbers released Thursday.
About 11.9 percent of Travis County residents were uninsured last year, compared with 14.4 percent in 2015, the Census Bureau reported.
Among the 10 most-populated metropolitan areas in Texas, the Austin-Round Rock area had the second-lowest uninsured rate at 11.7 percent. That figure was about a third of the 30 percent uninsured rate for the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metro area, the highest percentage in the state.
“Obviously I’m always excited to hear that we are trending up instead of trending down in the insurance status of the county,” said Kit Abney Spelce, senior director of eligibility services for Travis County’s health district, Central Health.
The area’s improvement came in a state where 17.3 percent of its residents, the largest share in the nation, were uninsured in 2017. Zoom out and look at the top 40 metropolitan areas in the United States, and Austin-Round Rock ranked ninth for uninsured residents.
Houston, at 18.2 percent, led the country for the highest percentage of uninsured residents, and San Antonio-New Braunfels (14.5 percent) ranked fourth. Nationwide, 8.7 percent, or 28 million Americans, weren’t insured in 2017, virtually matching the overall percentage reported by the Census Bureau for 2016.
With an uninsured rate of 8.9 percent, Williamson County ranked first among Texas counties with at least 65,000 estimated residents in 2017. Bastrop County’s rate of 16.5 percent was nearly double that figure.
In Travis County, Abney Spelce said the health district has continually funded organizations that assist with Affordable Care Act sign-ups. The district also puts advertising dollars toward educational campaigns promoting enrollment in the program.
Read the full story on the Statesman here.