Primary health care in Texas is in a crisis. And if you believe you're not affected, think again.

About a quarter of Texans are uninsured, the highest percentage in the nation. And Texas admits twice the number of people to emergency rooms as the rest of the nation.

Couple these facts, and you get a portrait of a population that literally cannot afford to get sick.

The Legislature must address health care in the session that begins Tuesday.

One thing lawmakers can do is adjust the eligibility requirements for the Children's Health Insurance Program and Medicaid. That would allow more people to receive services and would leverage important federal dollars.

For every CHIP dollar the state spends, it receives $2.63 in federal matching funds. For every Medicaid dollar spent, it gets $1.54.

In other words, cutting state dollars means a significant loss in federal money for Texas.

In 2003, deep reductions were made to the programs. Some of those cuts were reversed in 2005, but federal money still remains on the table.

The cuts were ostensibly a way for state government to keep its word on not raising taxes. That is a shell game. The cuts have cost all Texans in the form of more publicly financed emergency room visits and increases in local property taxes.

Less money means lower reimbursal rates for medical providers and a dramatic reduction in the number of doctors willing to treat new Medicaid patients.

Texas Medicaid covers one working parent with two children only if the household income is $3,696 per year or less.

The cap should be raised. The federal poverty limit is $16,600 for a family of three. Texas is way behind.

Higher CHIP enrollment also should be encouraged. About 700,000 eligible children are not enrolled, according to the Primary Care Coalition.

Greater enrollment would mean more federal funding, creating an infusion of dollars into the health care system that would allow more Texans to gain needed coverage.

At an average cost of about $9,100, the working poor cannot afford health insurance through their employer. For a family of three living in poverty, that's more than half its income.

This system additionally stifles the incentive to work, since earning "too much" money makes one ineligible for coverage.

An unhealthy population is expensive. According to Families USA, private insurance premiums in Texas cost an additional $1,551, on average, to compensate for the uninsured.

Legislators must rise to the occasion. Providing adequate health care for Texans is an economic imperative. It's also the right thing to do.