Skip to main content

Video: Affordable Care Act Had Key Role in Houston Boy's Treatment

In partnership with the Tribune, KTRK-TV's Ted Oberg tells the story of how at least one aspect of the Affordable Care Act helped save the life of a Houston boy.

By Ted Oberg, KTRK-TV
Lead image for this article

U.S. Supreme Court: Health Reform


This week, the U.S. Supreme Court is holding hearings regarding a lawsuit brought against the federal government by Texas and 25 other states that questions the constitutionality of several key aspects of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Texas Tribune and KTRK-TV in Houston have partnered to cover these proceedings by showing you how the law has already affected some residents and by curating content that explains what's at stake for nearly 6 million Texans who remain uninsured.

HOUSTON — Nearly 650,000 people here are without insurance, but there are other cities in the area where more than 20 percent of the population is uninsured.

Unless the law is overturned, everyone will be forced to buy insurance or pay a penalty in 2014, but Texas families are seeing changes in care already.

Young adults up to age 26 can stay on their parents' insurance. Pre-existing conditions are covered in many cases, and as one Houston family found, the caps on lifetime benefits have been lifted.

Read more here. And watch Ted Oberg's special report, edited and shot by photojournalist Charles Fisher.

As mentioned by Oberg, the Tribune's Becca Aaronson created this interactive, tracking how enrollment in state health care programs has increased over the years. Two other interactives show who the uninsured are, and where the uninsured live.

Texans need truth. Help us report it.

Support independent Texas news

Become a member. Join today.

Donate now

Explore related story topics

Health care Federal health reform Medicaid