Most people assume that those without health insurance are part of families in which no one is working. In fact, approximately 70 percent of people without health insurance in central Texas are employed. The uninsured population includes heads of families juggling several jobs to make ends meet. Families with two-full-time wage earners have a one in 10 chance of lacking coverage. Most young adults between the ages of 18 and 34, who make up nearly 40 percent of the uninsured population, are members of working families or are employed themselves but at jobs that do not offer them coverage.

Employed groups that are more likely to lack coverage include: those who are self employed or contractors, work part-time, work in small firms, or work in a service-oriented industries.

Having a job is no longer a guarantee that a person will have health insurance. Most people without health insurance are employed in service industries that help support the economy but typically pay lower wages and offer less benefits. People who earn these modest salaries cannot afford private coverage, but they earn too much to be covered by public programs such as Medicaid. These are the people who are paid to care for the elderly and disabled, bag groceries, service food at restaurants, build houses and landscape yards.