- Fact: "About 31 percent of Hispanics and 19 percent of blacks were without health insurance in 2008, while 11 percent of non-Hispanic whites were uninsured." (Source)
A really upsetting story from the Rio Grande Guardian: "Border region leads nation in percentage without health insurance" Four counties along the Texas-Mexico border region are among the top seven counties in the nation for the percentage of uninsured residents, a new study shows. Hidalgo County is third highest with 38.0 percent, Webb County is fourth highest with 36.2 percent, Cameron County is fifth highest, with 35.7 percent, and El Paso County is seventh highest with 31.8 percent. The study, limited to counties with a population over 65,000 and focused solely on the year 2008, was conducted by the American Community Survey (ACS). Texas State Demographer Karl Eschbach.
The national health care debate, and general conversations about health care here in Texas, are not discussed in terms of race -- and I don't think they should be, either. But I do think that when the disastrous policies put forth by Governor Rick Perry and the one-party rule of Republicans here in Texas lead to an outsize effect on a broad category of Texans, then we should take note of the issue and talk about why. I'm welcome to a productive discussion -- as well as some additional research and notes -- on this subject in the comments.
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