Thread by @TexasTribune

1/ Texas had the highest uninsured rate of any state before the coronavirus pandemic.

Now some Texans who have lost their jobs and their health insurance are slipping through the safety net. bit.ly/2LOfPbh

2/ Researchers estimate between 25 and 43 million people in the U.S. will lose health insurance through their employer in the coming months if the unemployment rate grows to 20%. bit.ly/2LOfPbh

3/ The situation is particularly dire in Texas:

+ The state already has the highest uninsured rate in the country.

+The state has declined to expand Medicaid coverage to people with incomes near or below the poverty line.

bit.ly/2LOfPbh

4/ Laci Crosson hustled to get her two youngest children enrolled in Medicaid. But for the adults, there was nothing.

Her eldest son has had to go without medication to manage his attention deficit disorder. bit.ly/2LOfPbh

5/ Texas has the strictest Medicaid eligibility in the country, and adults are unlikely to qualify for the public insurance program unless they are pregnant or have a disability that keeps them from working. bit.ly/2LOfPbh

6/ The restrictive criteria has left a gaping health insurance hole for people who aren’t poor enough to qualify for Medicaid but make too little to get subsidies in the federal marketplace. bit.ly/2LOfPbh

7/7 Of 1.6 million Texans who have likely lost job-based health insurance during the pandemic, it’s estimated that 30,000 would be eligible for Medicaid if Texas expanded the program.

Instead, they’re uninsured, and many more are expected to join them. bit.ly/2LOfPbh