'Let us do it': Harris County could provide health insurance to uninsured residents under COVER Now Act

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo recently hinted that the county could take it upon itself to provide medical coverage to its uninsured residents.

Texas congressional Democrats have introduced legislation, titled the "Cover Outstanding Vulnerable Expansion-Eligible Residents Now Act," that would allow local governments to expand Medicaid without any input from the state, according to Texas Tribune.  

"If the state won’t expand health insurance to the 20% who lack it, let us do it," Hidalgo wrote in a June 21 Twitter post. "Texas is one of only 12 states that has refused federal funds to cover its uninsured population. I don’t want my constituents in Harris County to remain uninsured."

The bill would allow smaller jurisdictions to request funding that their states declined from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

“For many of our most disadvantaged citizens, this bill offers a pathway to access a family physician, necessary medicine and other essential coverage that 13 states continue to deny,”  U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) said in a statement, Texas Tribune reported. “The COVER Now Act empowers local leaders to assure that the obstructionists at the top can no longer harm the most at-risk living at the bottom.”

Texans Republicans have opposed Medicaid expansion on grounds that systemic flaws should be addressed first, reported KXAN News.

“They’re not increasing the number of physicians that are taking the Medicaid program. So they’re further straining that system that’s intended for people that are in a really vulnerable spot,” David Balat, Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Right On Healthcare Initiative director, said according to KXAN News.

The bill would help the nearly 2 million Texans that don't qualify for Medicaid coverage because they make too much money to be eligible, but not enough to qualify for subsidized coverage in the health insurance marketplace.

Residents that fall into this category are predominantly people of color, according to Texas Tribune.

Texas has the largest number of uninsured residents in the country, with more than 5 million residents without health coverage.