Texas has 19 out of the 20 counties across the U.S. with the highest proportion of their population aged under 65 having no health insurance, according to a new study. The investigation was conducted by SmartAsset, a financial technology company.
Newsweek contacted the press office of Texas Governor Greg Abbott for comment on Thursday by email outside of regular office hours.
Why It Matters
The proportion of Americans without health insurance is a major concern, both in terms of their own wellbeing and of the state and civil society having to pick up the pieces via Medicare and other programs. Nationally around eight percent of Americans had no medical insurance as of March 2024, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Republican-controlled Texas is one of just a handful of states that chose not to adopt the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion.
What To Know
The SmartAsset study found that in 2024 nine of the ten counties with the most under-65s without health insurance are in Texas.
These were Hidalgo County with 32.1 percent uninsured, Cameron County on 30.1 percent, Webb County with 29.7 percent, Starr County with 29 percent, Ector County on 25.3 percent, Potter County on 24.4 percent, Dallas County with 24.2 percent, Harris County at 23.8 percent and El Paso County on 23.5 percent.
These were followed by the only non-Texas county to make the top ten, with 23.4 percent of under-65s in Whitfield County, Georgia, not having health insurance.
Stock photograph showing a 16-year-old boy receiving medical attention on August 5, 2009 in Walsenburg, Colorado. Out of the 20 counties across the U.S. with the highest share of their under 65 population without health… Stock photograph showing a 16-year-old boy receiving medical attention on August 5, 2009 in Walsenburg, Colorado. Out of the 20 counties across the U.S. with the highest share of their under 65 population without health insurance 19 are in Texas. More John Moore/GETTY
The remaining ten of the 20 states with the most uninsured under 65s were all in the Lone Star State. These were Liberty County with 23.2 percent, Bastrop County on 22.8 percent, Jefferson County on 22.7 percent, Angelina County at 22.5 percent, Gregg, Nacogdoches and Henderson counties each on 22 percent, Smith County on 21.2 percent, Nueces County with 21.2 percent and Wise County at 20.9 percent.
The SmartAsset research also found Tom Green County in Texas, which was ranked 25th for number of uninsured under 65-year-olds, declined from 17.5 percent uninsured in 2023 to 20.2 percent in 2024. The company added that in 2024 the average annual health insurance premium per American was nearly $9,000, or $25,500 for a family of four.
What People Are Saying
Speaking to Newsweek Joshua Blank, research director for the Texas Politics Project which is based out of the University of Texas at Austin, said the number of Texans without health insurance was not high on the state’s political radar.
He said:
Texas Counties Have Least Health Insurance Coverage
