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Medicaid is the primary source of insurance for Texas’ poorest residents. As of September 2006, Texas Medicaid provided health coverage for 2.7 million poor and low-income Texans, 12 percent of the state’s population. Two-thirds of Texas Medicaid enrollees (1.8 million) are children; the remaining third are primarily the elderly and patients with disabilities. Some 83 percent of Texas Medicaid enrollees live in families earning less than $16,600 per year (100 percent of poverty for a family of three).
The rapid growth in Medicaid enrollment – and costs – is rightfully concerning to state and federal lawmakers. At the same time, Medicaid is the work horse of Texas’ health care delivery system. It provides coverage for nearly 3 million poor and low-income Texans and helps the state achieve important public health policy goals, such as preventive health promotion and funding for the state’s safety net. Texas physicians strongly support pragmatic solutions to constraining Medicaid costs and growth. The Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) gave states considerable new tools to reshape their Medicaid programs. Enactment of these provisions must be carefully monitored to assure that changes achieve cost savings without undermining care to those in need.
TMA also supports using Medicaid dollars as a tool to help state’s subsidize health care coverage for low-income parents and workers who otherwise might not be able to afford health insurance.
Texas CHIP currently covers another 321,341 children. CHIP is an essential program to help working parents insure their children at an affordable price
Medicine’s 2009 Federal Agenda
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Monitor implementation of the Medicaid provisions of the Deficit Reduction Act to ensure they recognize the unique needs of low-income patients and do not inadvertently jeopardize patients’ ability to obtain timely health care services nor the financial health of the physicians and providers who care for them.
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Strongly support reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
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Support Medicaid and CHIP as tools to help states expand affordable health insurance to low-income parents and workers as well as efforts to enroll all children who are eligible but not enrolled.
Medicine’s Message
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Medicaid is the workhorse of the state’s health care delivery system, assuring vital health care services to nearly 3 million poor and low-income Texans. It is important to all Texas physicians, particularly those along the Texas-Mexico border, in rural areas, and in inner cities. Medicaid, Medicare, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are the lynchpins of health care delivery in these areas. Medicaid changes will affect health care statewide.
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Medicaid and CHIP support thousands of health-related jobs, medical education, and workforce development. Medicaid cuts threaten the Texas economy and our ability to teach, train, recruit, and retain much-needed health care professionals.
2009 Federal Legislative Issue Briefs
U.S. Congressional main page
Last Published: 3/10/2009 Print this page
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