Health care lessons from Texas: A policy focus for Texas 2036

The state of Texas will celebrate the bicentennial of its founding as a nation in 2036. What does that have to do with health care? A lot, if you’re an organization that wants to make Texas the best place to live in the nation. Health Care has become a key area of focus for Texas 2036, the organization amassing data and advising on the best ways to improve quality of life for more than 31 million people across the nation’s second most-populous state. Charles Miller, JD, is director of health and economic mobility policy for Texas 2036. Here he explains why health care is so vital for the state’s 200^th birthday and beyond.

Medical Economics: Why did Texas 2036 make health care policy a priority in recent years?

Charles Miller, JD: Texas has struggled. Many states have struggled with this, but Texas has uniquely struggled with health insurance in particular. For years and years, Texas has had the unfortunate designation of having the highest uninsured rate as well as the highest number of individuals without insurance, and that has been a sore spot for a lot of folks in Texas. So we saw this as one area that we could work to take on. As we got into that work, we also realized that it's not just simply limited to the issue of coverage and getting people covered, but that there is a broader ecosphere of making sure that the overall systemic nature of our health care system is affordable, and that goes beyond simply looking purely at insurance, but making sure that the entire system has affordable prices that remain accessible, both to individuals but also to the state as a whole.