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Where is the Link Between Health Spending & Access in Texas?

Health care overall accounts for a slightly smaller share of Texas state economic activity than it does of U.S economic activity – 11.7 percent of Texas GSP as compared to 13.3 percent of U.S. GNP in 2005.[1] However, seven states (Alaska, Colorado, California, Nevada, Virginia, Delaware, and Wyoming) and the District of Columbia contributed a lower percentage of GSP to health care expenditure than Texas and yet all but two of these had significantly lower rates of uninsured among their population than Texas (five of the seven states plus the District of Columbia fell in the range of 13-17 percent rate of uninsured among total population while Texas held the highest rate at 24% of total population uninsured – See Figure 2.1).[2] So where does Texas spending go and why are so many Texans still uninsured?

Total Health Care Expenditures as Percent of GSP, 2004

Source: “Total Health Care Expenditures as a Percent of Gross State Product (GSP), 2004.” Kaiser Family Foundation: StateHealthFacts.org. 5 July 2007 <http://www.statehealthfacts.org/cgi-bin/healthfacts.cgi?action=compare&category=Health+Costs+%26+Budgets&subcategory=Health+Care+Expenditures&topic=Health+Spending+as+%25+GSP>.

State Uninsured Rates – Total Population, 2004-2005

“Health Insurance Coverage of the Total Population, states (2004-2005), U.S. (2005): Map by Group: Uninsured.” Kaiser Family Foundation: StateHealthFacts.org. 5 July 2007 <http://www.statehealthfacts.org/cgi-bin/healthfacts.cgi?action=compare&category=Health+Coverage+%26+Uninsured&subcategory=Health+Insurance+Status&topic=Total+Population&link_category=&link_subcategory=&link_topic=&datatype=&printerfriendly=0&viewas=map&showregions=0&from=none&sortby=Uninsured>.