With the highest rate of uninsured in the nation and Texas ranked dead last among the 50 states in health care delivery, there’s no shortage of improvements to be made to the state’s health care system. The good news is that Texas has the tools to expand access to affordable health care – it’s called the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which has been upheld by the Supreme Court. Chris believes that Texas should use the ACA smartly to get the maximum benefit for the state. Chris will work with his colleagues in the Texas House to gain support to accept the Medicaid expansion. Under ACA, states can enroll their citizens in Medicaid if their annual income is 133 percent of the poverty level (about $30,000 for a family of four) or less. Under this provision, about 1.5 million Texans would gain coverage.
Chris also supports expanding the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in order to decrease the number of uninsured children in our state. In 2009, Chris co-authored a measure that would expand CHIP eligibility to include children whose family incomes are between 101 to 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. Chris will work to extend the Medicaid enrollment period from six months to one year, as it is in most other states.
