The majority of uninsured residents of Texas work full time, and more than half without health coverage live in households with annual incomes of more than $75,000, according to a report released Wednesday by the Texas Association of Business, the AP/Dallas Morning News reports. According to U.S. Census data, about 25% of the state's non-elderly population is uninsured -- the highest rate in the nation. The report by TAB, titled "Texas Health Care in Crisis: No Easy Cure," found that 75% of those who are uninsured have full-time jobs. In its report, TAB asks state lawmakers to expand a 2003 law that allows insurers and HMOs to offer plans that are not required to offer all benefits mandated by the state. The report also says the state should adopt a more "enforceable health care fraud statute" and create a "consumer right-to-know act" that would provide the public with information about the cost and quality of health care and data on providers' medical errors, the AP/Morning News reports. Bill Hammond -- president and CEO of TAB, which represents more than 140,000 small and large companies and 200 chambers of commerce -- said the report shows that Texas needs to alter its insurance laws to curb health care cost increases (AP/Dallas Morning News, 9/8).

The report is available online. Note: You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the report.