The saying for Texas is “everything is bigger in Texas”. Most Americans see Texas as a thriving state with large areas of land, big homes, and big incomes. This reality may be true for some Texans, but not the majority. Texas actually leads in the rankings for poverty. “As of January 22, 2015, Politifact Texas listed on their website that Texas has increased in the poverty rates from 15.1 percent to 17.5 percent.” The national poverty average is approximately 15.4 percent, which Texas is exceeding. “In 2014, for a family of three, poverty was an annual family income of less than $19,790; for a family of four, it was $23,790”. With most of Texans living in poverty, affording certain amenities, such as healthcare, is almost impossible. …show more content…
The only thing that is foolish is the fact that the state did not opt in. The states which have participated in the Medicaid expansion have reported seeing a drastic declined in uninsured rates and the uncompensated cost that hospitals incur do to treating patients that are uninsured. As Texas Medicaid stands now, no person without a child qualifies, college students are disqualified, and a person with a child who earns over 19 percent of the poverty level are not qualified for assistance. This is a disgrace. The blame lies on the former Governor and Texas Legislature for this awful decision. And as it stands, there are no talks from Texas Legislature to expand Medicaid in the near future. Not every person is a politician, but it seems that anyone could see that Texas is in dire need of some help to tuen the current healthcare crisis around. It is unsure if Texas Legislature is too stubborn to admit defeat, or if they are so against Democrats and Obama to want to jump on the bandwagon. But the question to them is, are Texas residents too good to admit that they need assistance? Is the government to high and mighty to see below the income thresholds they live in to notice that there are people who fall under that realm? Are the residents of Texas not worthy of