Nearly 2.6 million Texans eligible for health coverage subsidies

A study commissioned by proponents of the federal health care overhaul shows that nearly 2.6 million Texans will be eligible to start signing up this fall for subsidized private coverage. About 370,000 of the potential beneficiaries live in Dallas, Collin, Kaufman and Rockwall counties, according to a Lewin Group report released Thursday by Families USA, an Obamacare-supporting national consumer group. That doesn't mean they'll all sign up immediately on Oct. 1, the first day of operations for a federally run state health insurance exchange, Families USA executive director Ron Pollack said in a conference call with reporters. Nor does the estimate include about 420,000 adults just above the poverty line, said U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, who also participated in the call.