California gives free state health and dental insurance to the low income which is most of the population.
Texas makes low income people pay monthly for high deductible insurance…craziness. Low cost of living. Basically you need a job with health insurance benefits to have good health insurance.
There is also sick leave for all employees in California. Not insurance, but similar benefit.
Well, cannot argue about high deductible insurance. There are programs/discounts for self-pay patients, though, and a few health-care options specifically for low-income people.
Truthfully, I think it is health insurance that makes the prescriptions and doctors' visits cost so much. Personally, I do not think the "benefits" of health insurance outweigh the cons.
Last year, I didn't have health insurance (Texas) because the monthly cost through my employer, out-of-pocket, was $600–for the LOW plan for a family (my two boys and I). It was way too expensive for me to afford. Then Covid hit, and I realized that if any of us got sick, I wouldn't be able to afford any hospital bills, so I applied for a part-time job (in addition to my full-time job), and as soon as open enrollment started with my FT job, I signed us up for the low plan. Thankfully, at that time, my employer switched insurance companies and the out-of-pocket costs went down to $400/mo., so with my PT job, I could afford to pay for it without stretching my budget too far. Sad that I had to get a second job to afford health insurance though!
Soooo…. moving to Florida was a mistake. Poor people dropping dead for lack of any available health coverage.
Lived in both, the dole is better in Cal, more freedom in Texas.
