Fort Bend County Faces Major Healthcare Access Gaps

Mental Health and Prenatal Care Among Top Barriers for Residents

Fort Bend County residents are encountering significant obstacles in accessing essential healthcare services, particularly mental health support and prenatal care. A comprehensive study highlights cost and insurance issues as primary deterrents for many.

Study Reveals Widespread Need, Limited Access

A recent survey involving approximately 3,500 Fort Bend County residents, conducted by Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research and UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, has illuminated critical gaps in healthcare access. The findings reveal that nearly half of those surveyed reported needing mental health care in the past year, with less than half able to obtain it.

Dr. Letosha Gale-Lowe, director of Fort Bend County Health and Human Services, stated the research provides a crucial foundation. “What we have now really helps us to establish a really solid baseline going forward,” she commented.

The study indicated that Black and Hispanic residents, along with adults aged 18-29, experienced more days of reporting poor mental health. Stephen Linder, a lead researcher and professor at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, noted the disparity. “We found that less than half of those who had need for mental health services could access the services when needed,” Linder explained. “So it was clear that there was a barrier for some in the population who had mental health needs to be able to access those services.”

Prenatal Care Access Also Restricted by Cost

Similar challenges exist for prenatal care access, with about 46% of those needing it reporting consistent access. More than a third of respondents indicated they were never able to receive the prenatal care they required.

“The biggest barriers to those who weren’t always able to access care were cost and that their insurance, if they had insurance, wouldn’t cover the procedures that they thought they needed.”

—Stephen Linder, Professor and Director of the Institute for Health Policy, UTHealth Houston School of Public Health

While a high percentage of Fort Bend County residents, around 88%, are insured, significant portions of the Hispanic community and young adults remain uninsured. About 23% of Hispanic respondents and roughly 22% of young adults reported lacking health insurance.

Dan Potter, director of the Houston Population Research Center at the Kinder Institute, emphasized the impact of insurance status on seeking care. “When uninsured residents become sick or are injured, their first thought is often whether they can afford treatment, rather than how they can get immediate medical care,” Potter observed. He added, “That is not a system that works for us. That’s a system that’s profiting off of us.”

Cost Remains the Dominant Healthcare Obstacle

Gale-Lowe confirmed that the survey identified cost as the primary barrier. “Forty-one percent of the respondents in this study said that health insurance was too expensive and they couldn’t afford out-of-pocket costs, not just for health insurance, but for healthcare in general,” she stated.

A 2023 report by KFF revealed that the average annual premium for employer-sponsored family health coverage in the U.S. reached $23,968, with workers contributing a significant portion (KFF, 2023).

Tailored Solutions Needed for Diverse County Needs

Potter stressed that the survey is a vital starting point, but stressed the need for localized approaches. “Because of the diversity that exists there, in the people and the places that they are living, it’s very unlikely that there’s a ‘one size fits all’ type solution,” he concluded.