eTXHealthinsurance Promotes Texas Health Insurance Coverage for the State’s Uninsured Children

Aug. 29, 2011 - PRLog -- According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s recent report, more children in the U.S. are becoming eligible for and covered under public health insurance programs.  Their findings indicate that the number of uninsured children fell by 340,000 from 2008 to 2009.  Unfortunately, it’s estimated that an additional 4.3 million U.S. children still lack health insurance despite meeting eligibility requirements.  Since Texas is one of three states that account for 40 percent of the uninsured children, eTXHealthinsurance is promoting ways to cover children in Texas.

Of course, adult Texans who lack access to health care suffer as well as children, yet outcomes for uninsured children are decidedly more deadly.  When Johns Hopkins researchers investigated hospital admission records for children in 37 states, they found that hospitalized children with no health insurance had died 60 percent more often than children covered by a health plan.  The disparity couldn’t be explained by uninsured children being channeled to inferior facilities.  As one scientist put it, an uninsured child was at much greater risk than a child protected by health insurance in the adjacent hospital room.  According to the researchers’ estimates, lack of health insurance was linked to 17,000 deaths in less than two decades.  That doesn’t even include children who died prior to being admitted or after being released since records weren’t available to document those deaths.

Thanks to such investigation, the fight to change the uninsured status of children has made significant progress.  Post health care reform, applications for Texas health insurance policies cannot be declined just because a child has a health problem.  In addition, Texas health plans purchased this year take care of preventive health care without leaving parents to pick up any portion of the bill.  

Fully-covered services for children range from iron supplements for children ages 6 to 12 months who are at risk for anemia to alcohol and drug use assessments for adolescents.

Preventive services don’t begin with well-baby exams, though.  Folic Acid supplements are available for women who may become pregnant.  Hepatitis B screenings are also available for pregnant women at their first prenatal doctor’s appointment.  In addition, screening for Rh incompatibility and syphilis is available for pregnant women, along with tobacco use interventions and expanded counseling services.  

For newborns, screening for congenital hypothyroidism, hearing and vision, as well as sickle cell is covered.  At 18 and 24 months, autism screening is included along with developmental screening for those under three and behavioral assessments for children of all ages.  Oral health risk assessments are covered for young children, and comprehensive immunization vaccines are provided from birth to age 18.

With expanded preventive care through Texas health insurance plans and the availability of public health programs, children in Texas can be covered in spite of existing health problems or low family income.  Increased preventive care cuts down on undiagnosed conditions that increase high-cost emergency room services and unpaid medical bills that are passed on to the general public.  eTXHealthinsurance provides both personal assistance and online resources to help families find coverage.  In addition, eTXHealthinsurance promotes complementary resources to reduce the cost of imaging services, lab work and prescriptions at http://www.etxhealthinsurance.com/additional-benefits.htm.

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About eTXHealthinsurance:

eTXHealthinsurance has become a leader in providing educational resources that enable Texas families, individuals and small businesses to keep their healthcare costs low. Online information explaining how to keep premiums and out-of-pocket costs down is available at http://www.eTXHealthinsurance.com/how-to-guide.htm and http://www.eTXHealthinsurance.com/health-savings-accounts....

Texas residents seeking health insurance options in the individual market may use eTXHealthinsurance online resources to compare plans and apply online. Individuals and small companies may also schedule consultations with professionals to compare coverage options by calling 1-866-585-7664 between 9 AM and 11 PM Eastern.

eTXHealthinsurance also provides tools to lower healthcare costs that are not covered by insurance at http://www.eTXHealthinsurance.com/additional-benefits.htm.