Not so well

The numbers confirmed the daunting task that Dr. Carlos Cardenas and other medical professionals in the Rio Grande Valley face on a daily basis.

While doctors see things on the front lines before they are reflected in medical statistics, Cardenas said two reports released Friday by an Austin-based think tank verify his belief that Hidalgo County children face more barriers to success than other children in the state.

The Center for Public Policy Priorities, a research organization that lobbies on behalf of low- and moderate-income Texans, said Friday that children from the Valley's counties and other border counties do not have as much access to health care and other social services as more northern counties.

Think tank officials praised the Hidalgo County's performance in a few areas - notably for its low infant mortality rate - but said they expect lack of access to health care could cause county residents to become less healthy, less educated, poorer and more dependent on social services in the future.

Reform is needed in health care and other areas to brighten the future of border counties, said Cardenas, a vice president of South Texas Gastroenterology. He added that the future of Hidalgo County hinges on the health of its youth.

"The daunting task is to keep that population healthy so it can be educated and become a tool for economic development," he said. "They are inextricably linked."

The center released its findings at South Texas College on Friday for Kids Count, a national and state-by-state data initiative to assess the well-being of children in health, population growth and family economic security.

In most areas, Hidalgo County and other Valley counties ranked at or near the bottom of the state.

Valley children are more likely to come from poor families, receive welfare or food stamp benefits and not have health insurance.

And with the Valley's population rapidly growing - Hidalgo County's child population increased by 21 percent in an eight-year period - the gap between this area and the rest of the state may widen, said Frances Deviney, the director for the study.

The statistics in the study help county, state and federal leaders identify the needs of the state's poorest areas, she said. The Valley's two biggest problems are a lack of access to health care and a dwindling number of doctors compared to the population.

More than 53 percent of Hidalgo County children are enrolled in Texas Medicaid or the state's Children's Health Insurance Program, but more than a quarter of its children don't have health insurance at all.

Most children without health insurance qualify for one of the two assistance programs, Deviney said, but families don't apply for them because of a stigma attached to the programs and difficult application processes.

One barrier to getting Medicaid coverage is the lengthy application process that forces families to apply every six months, she said. A plan co-authored by state Rep. Kino Flores, D-Palmview, would make enrollment effective for a year.

But doctors also face challenges in helping the Valley's uninsured children because of Medicaid and CHIP reimbursement rates that don't cover the doctors' costs, Deviney said. And the Valley is facing the same doctor shortage as the rest of the nation.

Deviney said opening a medical school in the Valley to attract more medical students to the region who are likely to stay when they finish their residencies could help, as would raising the reimbursement rates for doctors.

Removing children's barriers to health care creates a "positive cycle" that leads to improvements in education and, eventually, economic well-being, she said. The challenges doctors such as Cardenas experience on a daily basis are not unique.

"They've got data to support their stories," Deviney said.

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Jared Janes covers Hidalgo County government, Edinburg and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4424.