Texas Governor rejects Medicaid Expansion

Poor people don't do very well in Texas in any category.

Now comes the news that Texas Governor Rick Perry will reject federal funds to expand Medicaid to the very poor who remain uninsured.

Even more amazing is the fact that the federal government would pay 100% of the expansion costs for thre first three years and then 90% of the cost after that!

You'll be interested to hear the following report from NPR on the Governor's action. And, be sure and watch a FOX News interview with Mr. Perry here.

Amazing!

“COVER TEXAS NOW”

ADVOCACY DAY AT THE CAPITOL

MARCH 30, 2011

Join advocates from around the state as we focus lawmakers’ attention on health insurance.

OVERVIEW:

• Meet at the Capitol at 10am (buses will be available from Dallas)

• Hear up-to-the-minute information from legislators and issue experts and share breakfast with health advocates from across the state

• Gather on the Capitol Steps for a press conference on the importance of health care in this legislative session

• Participate in scheduled meetings with legislators and their staffs

• Lobby Day events will end at 5pm

Texas has had the highest uninsured rate in the nation for two decades, and it’s time to get covered!

• Texans have new opportunities to get quality, affordable insurance and our state can benefit from new federal resources—legislators need to make health care reform work in Texas.

• We can’t balance the budget on the backs of sick people. Lawmakers are proposing cuts up to 30% for health insurance and health care services—this will take our state farther backward instead of helping get Texans covered!

Join us if any of the following issues are important to you:

• Protecting CHIP and Medicaid health coverage for 3 million Texas children and nearly 1 million adults including expectant moms, seniors and those with disabilities.

• Ensuring that hospitals stay open for everyone. Cutting resources to hospitals reduces availability and puts everyone at-risk during a medical emergency.

• Ensuring seniors and the disabled are able to continue receiving care in nursing homes and in their communities

• Ensuring access to all the benefits Texans should get from national health reform and preparing for full reform implementation in 2014.

HOW CAN YOU SIGN UP TO ATTEND LOBBY DAY?

Register NOW! Cover Texas Now Lobby Day is free, and registering early helps us make your day as worthwhile as possible.

Visit www.covertexasnow.org to register for Lobby Day and check bus pick-up location and times.

Participants should wear a bright green t-shirt to the event!

Dallas Bus and Travel Info

Team Lead: Jessica Davila (jdavila@citysquare.org)

Bus Meeting Information:

East Dallas Christian Church
629 North Peak St., Dallas, TX 75246
Parking lot on the southwest corner of Worth St. and N. Peak St

Time: Meet at 5:30 am to leave at 5:45 am sharp

Need more details? Call 214-303-2146 or email JDavila@citysquare.org

Can’t make it to Austin on March 30?

Contact us for more information on how you can get involved – in your own backyard! Sign up for email alerts, contact your legislator, or even plan an event in your area for the same day. Let your lawmakers know that people in your community are talking about health!

Morning spent in a food line. . .ever been there?

Have you ever stood in such a line waiting to receive food for you and your family? 

Recently, I captured these scenes at our Resource Center in inner city East Dallas before 9 a.m.  

We must do better as a community. 

We simply must.  What do you think?

Thoughtful comment on Medicaid and its improvement

Dr. James Baker is the CEO of Metrocare Services here in Dallas, Texas.

Metrocare Services, formerly known as the Dallas County Mental Health Mental Retardation (MHMR) Center, has served Dallas County for over 40 years by providing first rate clinical and social services to persons with mental illness, developmental disability, or severe emotional problems.


Jim is an expert on mental health care delivery among the poor and, thus, an expert on Medicaid.

Click here to refresh your memory on my previous post that addressed what I considered an outrageous comment about Medicaid made by Senator Lamar Alexander (TN-R).   Be sure and read the comments on that post. 

Here's what Dr. Baker left in the comment box on that earlier post: 

I want to go back to the original question by c hand: Why do "so few physicians...accept patients covered by the ... very good plan?" and why do patients with these plans have to wait for care?


Medicaid IS a very good plans from the perspective of its benefits, that is, what it will pay for. It is very generous in that respect.


The reason docs dont "accept patients" (actually it is the insurance that many dont accept...) is that Medicaid's reimbursement does not even cover most docs' costs for the services.


And if Congress doesnt repeal a Medicare reimbursement cut of 21% that is set for Jan 1st, the same access problems will worsen for the elderly that already happen for the poor.


The fix is counter-intuitive: increase both the number of people covered and the doc rates for both programs, so that access is easier and happens sooner in the course of a disease, so that the cost of each episode goes way down -- and therefore so does the total cost to taxpayers...


Unfortunately since it is counter-intuitive, many policymakers have a hard time grasping this reality...


Wednesday, November 25, 2009 3:30:00 PM CST

Jim, thanks for the clear and rational explanation. 

Ever consider a run for Congress?

"Medical ghetto"?

Even though I expect this post will set off a firestorm of comments, many or most of which will be very negative, I cannot find the words to properly express just how offensive I find the words of Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) during a speech he delivered in the current Senate health care debate.

Give him your attention.



In the first place, Medicaid represents the only health care option available to a portion, and only a portion, of the very poor in America. The major negative associated with Medicaid relates directly to the fact that so few physicians will accept patients covered by the otherwise very good plan.

As a result, my poorest neighbors must wait for care, and not only in long lines or in crowded clinic and ER waiting rooms, but for weeks at a time for scheduled treatment. This would be remedied if we had the benefit of a comprehensive, national health care plan.

But second, and even more offensive, if the good Senator feels that Medicaid is a "health care ghetto." doesn't he have a moral responsibility to improve it? Doesn't he have a fiscal responsibility to the nation to reform it, extend it and promote it? Hasn't he signed on as a national leader with the responsibilities that accompany such a decision? 

Never mind the obvious race baiting here. Let's talk quality, equity and health care justice, not to mention improving the nation's wellness and health outcomes across a broad array of health measures.

Senator, please!