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Florida Far Outpaces Texas in Signing Up the Uninsured

Joe Raedle
/
Getty Images

When it comes to enrolling the uninsured on Healthcare.gov, Florida is crushing Texas. And the competition isn’t even close, reports The Dallas Morning News. 1.6 million Floridians have signed up for private insurance plans this year. That’s compared to only 1.1 million Texans. Why the disparity, when Texas has more people than Florida? The Sunshine State is more compact. Florida has 75 percent of Texas’s population, crammed into one quarter of its real estate. Texas’s vast geography makes getting the word out difficult.

Also, the biggest factor in new insurance sign-ups has been found to be the amount of assistance available in filling out applications. But Texas has set up more roadblocks than Florida, to make it harder for nonprofits to help those needing assistance.

For example, Texas requires 20 hours of training for the “navigators” who help people sign up. Florida does not require the same training.