Rick Perry can try to blame others for the state of health care in Texas, but middle-class Texans know the reality. Perry’s policies haven’t created reliable, stable circumstances for their families. In Governor Perry’s Texas, health insurance premiums have risen 105 percent, nearly 6.5 million Texans are uninsured even though the majority of them have full-time jobs and the state has spent as little as possible on health care.

HEALTH CARE COSTS HAVE RISEN IN TEXAS, UNDER PERRY

• Texans’ Lack of Health Insurance Places “A Crushing Burden On Hospitals And Doctors Who Treat Patients Unable To Pay” Whose “Costs Are Passed To The Insured,” Causing Insurance Premiums To Increase “More Quickly In Texas Than They Have Nationally Over The Last Seven Years.” [LA Times, 9/8/11]

• Under Perry, Health Insurance Premiums “Have Soared By 105 Percent.” [NPR, 9/20/11]

• Under Perry, Texas Health Insurance “Premiums Are Well Above The National Average.” [Houston Chronicle, 8/17/11]

HEALTH CARE COVERAGE HARD TO FIND IN RICK PERRY’S TEXAS

• LA Times Headline: “Texas Healthcare System Withering Under Gov. Perry.” [LA Times, 9/8/11]

• Under Perry, “Nearly 6.5 Million Texans Are Now Uninsured Even Though The Majority Of Them Have Full-Time Jobs.” [NPR, 9/20/11]

• “Across Texas, Health Coverage — And Health — Are Eroding Even In Places Where Jobs Are Plentiful.” [LA Times, 9/8/11]
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    Chief Executive Of Esperanza Clinic: “We Are At The Breaking Point” Because Many Businesses Don't Offer Health Benefits And Demand At The Clinic Is Skyrocketing. [LA Times, 9/8/11]

• Under Perry, “More Than 5.2 Million Texans Live In Areas Designated As Official Health Professional Shortage Areas” And Texas “Ranks 48th Out Of 50 States In The Number Of Physicians Per 100,000 Residents.” [Houston Chronicle, 8/17/11]

REALITY: UNDER PERRY, TEXAS HAD THE HIGHEST RATE OF ANY STATE OF PEOPLE WITHOUT INSURANCE

• Under Perry, “Texans Increasingly Have Been Priced Out Of Private Healthcare While The State's Safety Net Has Withered, Leaving Millions Of State Residents Without Medical Care.” [LA Times, 9/8/11]

• 2009: Texas Had The Highest Percentage Of People Without Health Insurance Of Any State In America, At 26%. [Kaiser Foundation, State Health Facts – 2009, accessed 8/31/11]
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    2009: Texas Had 6.2 Million Uninsured People.[Kaiser Foundation, State Health Facts – 2009, accessed, 8/31/11]

• Under Perry, 2000 – 2009: The Percentage Of Texans Without Health Insurance Increased From 22.4% To 26.1%. [State Health Access Data Assistance Center, Current Population Survey Data – 2000and 2009, accessed 8/31/11]

• Under Perry, “The Number Of Texans Who Qualify For Medicaid Has Grown 80 Percent.” [Houston Chronicle, 8/17/11]

REALITY: TEXAS HAS 1.3 MILLION UNINSURED CHILDREN

• 2009: Texas Tied For The Highest Percentage Of Children Without Health Insurance Of Any State In America. [Kaiser Foundation, State Health Facts – 2009, accessed 8/31/11]
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    2009: Texas Had 1.3 Million Uninsured Children. [Kaiser Foundation, Texas State Profile, accessed, 8/31/11]

• 2007: “Nearly A Third Of The State's Children Did Not Receive An Annual Physical And A Teeth Cleaning” Putting “Texas 40^th In A State Ranking.” [LA Times, 9/8/11]

• Texas Has “One Of The Slimmest Medicaid And Children's Health Insurance Programs In The Country.” [LA Times, 9/8/11]

REALITY: UNDER PERRY, TEXAS SPENT AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE ON SERVING THE HEALTH CARE NEEDS OF ITS CITIZENS

• Head Of University Of Texas Health System: “The Philosophy Has Been The Less Public Expenditure, The Better.” [LA Times, 9/8/11]

• Former Texas Pediatric Society President, Dr. Jane Rider: “The Question Seems To Be How Little Can We Fund And Still Have A System…It Seems Like We're Leading The Way Into A Downward Spiral.” [LA Times, 9/8/11]

• Texas Medical Assn. President: “Texas Just Hasn't Proven It Can Run A Health System.” [LA Times, 9/8/11]