Who We Are
The Texas Coalition for Patients, or TCP, is a coalition of patients, families, hospitals, physicians and other healthcare providers in Texas who decided "this is just how insurance works" is not a good enough answer anymore.
TCP works across the political spectrum to push for transparency and accountability from every part of the healthcare system, with particular focus on the practices of Big Insurance.
17%
of Texans have no health insurance coverage.
2/3
of Texans have skipped or postponed health care because they couldn’t afford it.
3
insurance companies control 84% of the insurance market
in Texas
Texans Deserve Better Than Denied Care
Three insurance companies hold 84% of the Texas commercial market. Their leverage isn't abstract. It sets the terms for premiums, denials and which doctors stay in business.
Recent profits of the largest U.S. health insurers tell the story:
-
UnitedHealth Group: more than $14 billion in 2024 profit (UnitedHealth Group 2024 annual report)
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Elevance Health, parent of Blue Cross Blue Shield in multiple states: nearly $6 billion in 2024 profit (Elevance Health 2024 annual report)
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The Cigna Group: more than $3 billion in 2024 profit (Cigna 2024 annual report)
Meanwhile, Texas families are spending more than 10% of household income on health coverage before copays even start (Commonwealth Fund)
The Human Cost of Denials
Every day across Texas, doctors prescribe care that insurance refuses to pay for.
Scans. Surgeries. Cancer treatments. The medication a patient has been on for a decade. Coverage that families paid into for years seems to go away the moment they actually need it.
And when approvals stall, conditions don't pause. They get worse.
A patient waiting on prior authorizationis a patient losing days of treatment for no clinical reason. Nearly six in 10 adults who experienced a coverage denial said their care was delayed as a result (Commonwealth Fund). The cost of those delays doesn't show up on the insurer's balance sheet. It shows up in the hospital, in the pharmacy and in the everyday lives of patients.
Read patient stories and the latest news.
