Bishop Ray Tiemann in the Victoria Advocate: Make Health a Priority in Texas

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Of the many issues facing Texas lawmakers, none has more impact on the lives of everyday Texans than our state's persistent health crisis. Legislators are considering an impressive range of health-improvement bills this year, but time is growing short to move them through the legislative process. Hopefully leaders in both chambers will prioritize health legislation for the remainder of this legislative session.

The philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson quipped, "Health is the first wealth." Unfortunately, the inverse is also true - poor health leads to diminished prosperity and quality of life for the whole community.

Texans face more barriers than residents of other states in accessing health care, and our population suffers from preventable and treatable conditions such as diabetes at rates exceeding national norms. Our health crisis does not have an impact on all Texans equally: The economically disadvantaged, African-Americans and Hispanics, and children face disproportionate health care problems.

About 25 percent of all Texans - and 20 percent of our children - lack health coverage. Recent polling by the Texas Hospital Association confirms that Texans want legislators to increase access to affordable health coverage. More than three-quarters of Texans surveyed said state lawmakers should make health care a priority now - even if Congress might address health-care reform in the future. More than 45 percent surveyed said increasing access to affordable health insurance was the most important issue lawmakers face this year, ahead of public education, jobs and immigration.

Legislators have the opportunity to increase health insurance for Texas kids through commonsense improvements to children's Medicaid and CHIP. Legislation establishing annual Medicaid enrollment instead of the current six-month cycle would ensure that eligible kids don't fall through bureaucratic cracks. Bills that would allow families above CHIP income eligibility limits to purchase coverage for their children at cost would provide a valuable framework for covering kids and encouraging parental responsibility.

Lawmakers also are considering ways to increase access to affordable coverage through employers and private plans. The innovative Senate Bill 6 would establish Healthy Texas, a new approach to bringing down premium costs for small employers in low-wage industries.

Texas needs new strategies for addressing our preventive health and wellness concerns. If an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, Texas could get more bang for our bucks by literally losing weight and preventing ill health before it starts.

According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, in 2007 almost 66 percent of Texas adults - and 32 percent of adolescents - were obese or overweight. Obesity has direct correlation to diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, orthopedic disorders and more, so high obesity rates now will spell an unstable and costly health future for Texas. Obese children and adolescents have an 80-percent chance of becoming obese adults.

Lawmakers have many opportunities to help reduce childhood and adult obesity and resulting health complications.

Various bills would increase coordination of state agency obesity prevention efforts to strategies to bring fresh, healthy food to low-income communities.

Senate Bill 205 would establish the Texas Partnership for Children in Nature to increase the effectiveness of children's nutrition, outdoor activity and physical education programs.

Also related to prevention and wellness, lawmakers can protect the health of all Texans by passing Senate Bill 544 to eliminate smoking in public places, reducing loss of life and health related to second-hand smoke.

With so many great proposals to choose from, lawmakers should have no trouble taking significant strides toward a healthier Texas this session. And with so much on the line for so many Texans, legislators should have no trouble making health legislation a top priority.

The Rev. Dr. Ray Tiemann, of Seguin, was elected in May 2000 to serve as the fourth bishop of the Southwestern Texas Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He began his first six-year term of office on Sept. 1, 2000, and was re-elected in May, 2006, for a second six-year term.