Metro- and Congressional-Area Census Data Show Need for National Health Reform

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Author:
CPPP

September 22, 2009

What You Need to Know: New Census Data to Be Released on Health Insurance Coverage, Poverty, and Income >>  
Metro- and Congressional-Area Census Data Show Need for National Health Reform >>  

Austin, Texas – The 2008 American Community Survey (ACS) data released by the U.S. Census Bureau on September 21 show that Texans stand to gain the most from national health reform. Nearly all of Texas’ metro and rural area uninsured rates exceed the U.S. average. Texas again had the nation’s highest statewide uninsured rate, and some localities far exceeded the statewide rate of 24.1 percent. Texas entered the recession later than the rest of the nation and experienced low rates of unemployment through most of 2008, so these new data reflect only the very beginning of the recession’s impact on Texas.