Here is a number that rarely makes the news in Corpus Christi: about 7,200 children and teenagers in Nueces County have no health insurance. That is roughly 1 in 12 residents under 19, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2020–2024 estimates).

Across Texas the picture is worse. About 12 percent of Texas children are uninsured over the same period, more than twice the national rate of 5.5 percent. In the Census Bureau’s 2024 one-year estimates, Texas had the highest rate of uninsured children of any state: 13.6 percent, or about 1.1 million kids.

If your child is one of them, this post is not a lecture. It is a map.

The numbers, side by side

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates 2020–2024, table S2701. County estimates carry a margin of error of about plus or minus 1.2 points.

Inside the county number there is a pattern worth noticing. Among children under 6, about 5.4 percent are uninsured. Among ages 6 to 18, it is 9.4 percent. Coverage tends to slip as children get older, just as sports physicals, braces and the first signs of blood-sugar trouble start to matter. And for young adults ages 19 to 25 in Nueces County, the uninsured rate jumps to 30.9 percent.

Why a gap matters more than you think

Being uninsured is not only about big emergencies. It changes the small, routine visits where problems are caught early.

A national study of nearly 27,000 children in the New England Journal of Medicine (Olson and colleagues, 2005, using 2000–2001 survey data) found that children with full-year coverage rarely went without care. For children who were uninsured for part of the year, 20.2 percent had delayed care and nearly 1 in 10 had a prescription go unfilled. The authors concluded that children with gaps in coverage commonly skip medical care, including preventive visits.

A later study of more than 34,000 children (Tumin and colleagues, 2019, using 2011–2013 data) found the same thing: a gap in coverage was tied to much higher odds of unmet health care needs, even for children with chronic illness.

Adults here feel it too. In the 2025 Corpus Christi–Nueces County Community Health Assessment, 28.3 percent of survey respondents said they had missed or delayed a doctor’s appointment in the past year. Lack of time, cost of care and transportation were the most common reasons.

The yearly checkup is where height, weight and blood pressure get written down, and where a doctor decides whether a child needs a blood-sugar test. No coverage often means no checkup.

What your child may qualify for

Texas covers children through two programs: Medicaid and CHIP, the Children’s Health Insurance Program. According to KFF’s January 2026 table, Texas children qualify for CHIP at family incomes up to about 206 percent of the federal poverty level. For a family of three, the 2026 poverty level is $27,320, so that works out to roughly $56,000 a year. Medicaid covers lower incomes.

That is the rough line, not the final word. Household size and other rules matter, and the state does the actual math. If you think you might be just over the line, apply anyway and let the state decide.

Timing matters too:

• Medicaid and CHIP: any time of year. There is no enrollment season.
• HealthCare.gov marketplace plans: open enrollment for 2027 coverage starts November 1 and runs through January 15. If your employer does not cover your family, that window is coming up.

Four ways to start this week

• Apply online at YourTexasBenefits.com, the state’s site for Medicaid, CHIP and SNAP. It also points you to HealthCare.gov if that fits your family better.
• Get free, in-person help. The Coastal Bend Food Bank has a social services team that helps families apply for and renew Medicaid, CHIP and SNAP at no cost. Walk-ins are welcome at 5442 Bear Lane, or call (361) 887-6291.
• Dial 2-1-1 (or 877-541-7905) to find other local help with applications, clinics and food.
• If you already have coverage, protect it. Keep your address and phone number current so renewal letters reach you, and answer them. A missed letter can become a gap.

Have recent pay stubs and proof of address nearby when you sit down; the application will tell you what else it needs.

Where Ignite Fit comes in

Ignite Fit is our free ten-week children’s health season for ages 8–17 in Corpus Christi. Season One is for 25 children, and dates will be announced soon. We are a community program, not a clinic. The best partner a child can bring into the season is a doctor who has seen them this year. That is why getting covered this fall matters.

Parents are welcome at every session, and no parent is ever asked to drop off and leave. We are Catholic and open to everyone; prayer is offered and never required.

Your next step: if your child has no coverage, make one call this week, to the Food Bank’s navigators or 2-1-1. To hear when Ignite Fit registration opens, email service@ignitehisglory.com or call 361-765-2126.