On Texas border, uninsured people stress the health system. It's set to get worse

"Dr. Jake Margo Jr. stood in the triage room at Starr County Memorial Hospital explaining why a person with persistent fever who could be treated with over-the-counter medication didn't need to be admitted to the emergency room. "We're going to take care of the sickest patients first," Margo, a family medicine physician, said. It's not like there was space on that June afternoon anyway. A small monitor on the wall pulsed with the vitals of current patients, who filled the ER."

"a largely rural, Hispanic community on the southern U.S. border, made headlines in 2024 when it voted Republican in a presidential election for the first time in more than a century. Immigration and the economy drove the flip in this community, where roughly a third of the population falls below the poverty line. Now, recent actions by the Trump administration and the GOP-controlled Congress have triggered a new concern: the inability of doctors, hospitals and other health providers to continue to care for uninsured patients."

"Communities across the U.S. with similarly high proportions of uninsured people could struggle as additional residents lose health coverage. About 14 million fewer Americans are expected to have health insurance in a decade due to President Trump's new tax-and-spending law, which Republicans dubbed the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, or OBBBA, and the pending expiration of enhanced subsidies that slashed the price of Affordable Care Act plans for millions of people."

Starr County Memorial Hospital's emergency room is overwhelmed, forcing clinicians to prioritize the sickest patients while ambulances wait for beds. Starr County is a largely rural Hispanic border community with high poverty and one of the nation's highest uninsured rates. Recent federal actions—President Trump's new tax-and-spending law (OBBBA) and the prospective end of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies—are projected to leave about 14 million fewer Americans insured over a decade. The new law also reduces funding streams that send billions to support providers who care for uninsured patients. Communities with high uninsured populations could face widening access and financial strain.

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