There is a lot of talk these days about expanding government programs to eliminate the uninsured population, but research from the Texas Public Policy Foundation indicates that state-provided health insurance can only make a tiny dent in the percentage of uninsured Texans.

According to Arlene Wohlgemuth, former state representative and Visiting Research Fellow in the Foundation’s Center for Health Care Policy, "Removing these three uninsured populations from the calculation (those in the country illegally, those making over 200% FPL and those eligible but not enrolled in state programs) leaves only 4.7 percent of the population. Therefore, even if we insured every person eligible through a public program, Texas would still have almost 20 percent of its population uninsured. Clearly, the objective should be to provide access to health care for the uninsured in the most efficient way possible. The answer will not be easy. But Texas should look for new ideas and innovations and also promote what is already working here."

In expanding programs and trying to put more people on the government’s tab, the state of Texas misses the point. Recent reports show the government has been very successful at putting people onto government coverage, but it has done very little to actually reduce the number of uninsured or improve the public's access to health care.