There was a time when Texans woke up every morning thanking God for Mississippi and Alabama when it came to health and human services. Those days are long gone!
Even though I am in a position to see our ugly reality on a daily basis, I must admit the story in The Dallas Morning News on Thursday, January 20, 2005, blew me away one more time. Will I ever learn?
You couldn't miss reporter Robert T. Garrett's headline:
"Children's insurance program forfeits millions."
Uh, oh! Here we go again.
Texas gave up $104.6 million, a bit over one third of the funding assigned to the state by the U. S. Department of Health and Human services for use in its Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) during 2002.
No doubt, you have read about CHIP over the past year or so. The legislature and governor decided to scale the program back in order to help balance the state's budget during its last session.
Funding from Washington is awarded as matching funds. If a state does not spend enough to receive the 3 to 1 match--that is almost three federal dollars for every one state dollar spent--it relinquishes its funding.
In other words, by saving something over $30 million, Texas lost $104,000,000.
Sadly, this is not the first loss for Texas. Since CHIP began just a few years ago, Texas has surrendered almost $772 million in funds for the children's insurance product.
Of course, the politicians immediately began blaming one another for the failure. Governor Perry blamed Senator Hutchison. Senator Hutchison blamed Governor Perry.
Ho hum. What's new there? Well, I guess it is new for two Republicans to square off, but then maybe not with Democrats on the verge of extinction in the state!
Among the real losers are the children of Texas and the overall status of our public health.
Wonder where that "lost funding" went--funding that hard working Texans sent to Washington when they paid their tax bills?
The funds were redistributed to states who had spent their entire allotment.
A lesson my dad taught me years ago comes to mind just here. Something about having to spend money to make money.
Anybody else ready for the emergence of real leaders?
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If you want to gain an even better perspective about the shameful state of public healthcare in Texas and you missed it tonight, please mark your calenders to watch/tape KERA Channel 13's documentary, "Lives in the Balance" Public Healthcare in Texas" It will air again on Channel 13-KERA as follows: Sun., Jan. 30 at 5 p.m.; Mon. Jan. 31, at 2 p.m. and Tues., Feb. 1 at 8 p.m.
I personally found the combined arrogance, ignorance and flat-out evil of some of the public officials stunning. I also found myself wanting to move out of Dallas and out of Texas, again. Perhaps it was the elected official from Plano proudly stating that if Dallas wanted to try to provide healthcare to the poor then it was a nice thing to do, but not in her county. Yet, Collin County is more than happy to send its poor, ill residents to Dallas County and Parkland, but is not willing to pay its share of the bill. Personal responsibility? Fiscal responsibility? Did you know that according to a May 2004 report from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Collin County ranks 2nd in Texas in the number of personal bankruptices. Better be careful with rocks and those Mac-mansions! BTW, Dallas County ranks 26th in bankruptcies.
Or maybe it was the state Sen.Nelson from Flower Mound (Denton County ranks 18th in personal bankruptices) who's favorite book is the Bible and who was honored by the Texas Medical Association in 1999 with Texas Medicine's Best Award which is "presented during legislative years to state legislators who exemplify the highest standards of public service on behalf of the health of all Texans." Rick Perry received the same award the same year.
Perry, Sen. Nelson and other Republicans cut CHIP funding to fund economic development programs, among other state "priorites". Yet, when one considers that this state ranks 48th in education with graduation rates below the national average, and is a national leader in violent crimes, hunger, poverty among children, infectious diseases and uninsured residents, and is not projected to make any significant improvement in any of those areas in the near future, one would be hard pressed to find reasons why smart, productive, responsible businesses that have to compete in a global, knowledge-based economy that needs an educated, healthy workforce would ever even think about Texas.
Sen. Nelson's favorite saying is: "This too shall pass." So perhaps we should follow the Sen's example and work hard to cover up the blatant intolerance and the lack of vision and real-world ability to achieve maximum productivity and ROI through effective investment and asset management But then again, not sure Perry, Sen, Nelson and other Republicans consider Texas residents paying below the the top marginal tax rate of 35% as assets worth investing in. Median household income in Texas in 1999 was $39,900.
And perhaps we should also join the Sen. in a chorus of hollow, hypocritical sound bites about "individual responsibility". It's one of those phrases that Those Who Fear Possibility and Potential try to make their own and use to stop all thought and dialogue that might accidentally engage and inspire citizens to come together to create solid solutions for the Common Good. Because Gov. and Sen., isn't your real goal 22 million disconnected, disinterested individuals living in an illiterate, crime-ridden, impoverished, diseased Lone Star State?
Well, not on my watch! Well, here are some words they surely don't want you to read and embrace: "We are the ones we've been waiting for!" Please share!!!
And Larry, thank you and all of the great folks at CDM for your faith, heart, courage and inspriation!
Kim Young
Kim -- don't move out . . . move up!We're in this together, and we need strong, outspoken leaders like you to lift this state closer to that Heaven from which it fell into being. Thank you for helping CDM to share the love of God!
Classic example of "trickle down" theory versus the painful reality at work in lives on the ground. No one ever wants to consider the impact of "bubble up."
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