Perry Rejects Expansion of Medicaid in Texas

AngieBado
July 9, 2012 6:54 am
By Angie Bado, TSB Publisher

Gov. Rick Perry has announced this morning that he will not be a party to adopting an expanded Medicaid program or establish a health insurance exchange for Texas, according to the Texas Tribune.  These are two of the major pieces of the federal healthcare reform, or Obamacare, that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld last month.

The 2010 U.S. Census confirms that Texas has the highest rate of uninsured adults in the nation. That translates into approximately 1 in 4 adults lacking health insurance. If Texas does not put together its own health insurance exchange program, the federal government will establish a "one size fits all" program, according to the Tribune. 

The governor will appear on Fox news at 10:30 a.m. to further discuss his ideas. 

What do you think, McKinney residents?  Do you support Perry's decision?  

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Comments

BillSpizzirri's picture
Tue, 07/10/2012 - 09:14 — BillSpizzirri

another example of what it means to be a compassionate,conservative Christian. The Medicaid expansion would reduce the number of uninsured in TX. TX has the highest rate of uninsured in the country at 25%.

Huffington Post article:
It also has the worst health care services and delivery in the nation according to the federal Agency for Health Care Research and Quality. A Kaiser Family Foundation report estimated that by 2019, Texas' Medicaid rolls would increase by 45 percent -- almost 1.4 million people who previously did not have insurance -- and state spending would only increase by 3 percent from baseline. The federal government would pay for 95 percent of the costs from 2014-2019.

Medicaid, however, remains an imperfect solution to medical care -- fewer doctors want to take its reimbursement rates, which Texas doctors say covers about half of their costs. Only 31 percent of doctors are taking new patients with Medicaid, according to the Texas Medical Association. Making matters worse, the GOP-controlled legislature cut reimbursements by 2 percent in 2010 and 2011

swfroese's picture
Mon, 07/09/2012 - 11:04 — swfroese

I listened to Gov Perry this morning on Fox News, and unfortunately, I did not hear his solution on how Texas is going to provide basic healthcare to 1 in 4 Texans who are without health insurance. Gov Perry said he prefers block grants from the Federal Government, but that is not one of the current options. It appears that Texas will leave billions of dollars on the table provided by the Federal Government to expand Medicaid services for those who are most vulnerable. The Federal Government will provide 100 % in 2014 and 90 % in future years. That sounds like a good way Texas can recover the billions of dollars we send in income tax to help those who are uninsured. The insurance exchanges appear to be an efficient way for those who don't qualify for Medicaid to obtain health insurance. As a person who currently has health insurance and access to healthcare, I am concerned about our cavalier attitude toward those who do not. What am I missing here?

Comments

BillSpizzirri's picture
Tue, 07/10/2012 - 09:14 — BillSpizzirri

another example of what it means to be a compassionate,conservative Christian. The Medicaid expansion would reduce the number of uninsured in TX. TX has the highest rate of uninsured in the country at 25%.

Huffington Post article:
It also has the worst health care services and delivery in the nation according to the federal Agency for Health Care Research and Quality. A Kaiser Family Foundation report estimated that by 2019, Texas' Medicaid rolls would increase by 45 percent -- almost 1.4 million people who previously did not have insurance -- and state spending would only increase by 3 percent from baseline. The federal government would pay for 95 percent of the costs from 2014-2019.

Medicaid, however, remains an imperfect solution to medical care -- fewer doctors want to take its reimbursement rates, which Texas doctors say covers about half of their costs. Only 31 percent of doctors are taking new patients with Medicaid, according to the Texas Medical Association. Making matters worse, the GOP-controlled legislature cut reimbursements by 2 percent in 2010 and 2011

swfroese's picture
Mon, 07/09/2012 - 11:04 — swfroese

I listened to Gov Perry this morning on Fox News, and unfortunately, I did not hear his solution on how Texas is going to provide basic healthcare to 1 in 4 Texans who are without health insurance. Gov Perry said he prefers block grants from the Federal Government, but that is not one of the current options. It appears that Texas will leave billions of dollars on the table provided by the Federal Government to expand Medicaid services for those who are most vulnerable. The Federal Government will provide 100 % in 2014 and 90 % in future years. That sounds like a good way Texas can recover the billions of dollars we send in income tax to help those who are uninsured. The insurance exchanges appear to be an efficient way for those who don't qualify for Medicaid to obtain health insurance. As a person who currently has health insurance and access to healthcare, I am concerned about our cavalier attitude toward those who do not. What am I missing here?