Despite Uproar, TX Lawmakers Pursue Medicare Overhaul
Across the nation, U.S. House Republicans are getting an earful from their constituents about a GOP budget proposal to overhaul Medicare, the federal health care program that insures the elderly.
The Republican plan, written by Wisconsin Rep. Paul D. Ryan as part of his sweeping budget overhaul, would turn Medicare into a program that subsidizes private health care coverage for seniors instead of directly paying medical costs as it does now. Some Republicans, unnerved by the public reception, have even begun to retreat from it.
But that message hasn’t made its way to Texas, where state lawmakers are ...
Comments (15)
Karen Cummings via Texas Tribune on Facebook
If Texas runs Medicaid the way they have run public education, we are in serious trouble. No Thanks!
Ben Martinez via Texas Tribune on Facebook
If Texas repub politicians fuck like they manage government, humanity would cease to exist.
Dale Curry
Please dear God, do not let these failed managers of our state goverment get control of Medicare/medicaid. This governor and his tparty bigots are incapable of effective management!
Abel Magwitch
The State has nothing to do with Medicare.
Barbara Avila Marvin via Texas Tribune on Facebook
"It's better to conduct a study first, before jumping into any proposals..." The mantra, "Buyer beware.", ought to easily translate into, "Voter beware."now. Please, oh, please.
Rudyg43
Here's my comment - Texas has been a red state and has continued to go down the tubes since Texas became a red state! Our Career politician, Rick Perry, has been influential in making Texas a one party state which in turn has made for extremely dissatisfied electorate. All this brew-ha-ha about spending too much is pure rubbish since there is no equitable taxation across the board to all Americans. Add to the the continued deductions allowed to mega corporation along with their subsidies, the Congress has released these big boys to gain and reap huge benefits at the expense of American taxpayers. People who do not see this are fooling themselves. Lower Taxes has never produced jobs or the economy. President Obama may not change or take Texas, but we are in dire need to be a two party state!
Michael B Openshaw
I really love how everybody here keeps saying Texas has gone down the tubes since the state went red. Yet people and jobs are flooding into here from every blue state your can name.
As for Republicans 'getting an earful from their constituents', if you mean the handfuls of liberals showing up- among HUNDREDS of supportive constituents- to scream, rant and disrupt- at GOP town halls, then is is the volume, shrillness and lunacy of a few mixed in with the vast majority realizing something must be done. BTW: most of those liberals showing up are nowhere NEAR being of medicare age; most of the supporters of the GOP are.
Patricia Wood
You almost don't know where to begin. The Republican mantra is---what's good for bidness is good for Texas. This would be reasonable if not for a few obstacles---social justice, fairness, legality, compassion, humanity, environmental safety, public welfare...I could keep going for a page or 2, but what's the point. The vision of the Texas Legislature getting its mitts on Medicare as well as Medicaid is a nightmare in the making. Not finished wrecking the public schools and social safety net, they cannot wait to get their hands on health care. They have no remedies except for the (semi) free market where corporations rule the day. You try to get a picture of what our world will look like if they win out, and it is hard not to despair. Doing their damnedest to turn their Republic of Texas into a banana republic!
JustAnotherTexan
This bill would also hand control to Texas over health care for federal employees (howdy, Mr. Congressman) and federal retirees. Yahoo!
Dale Curry
@ MIke Yes, Texas has gone down the tubes since it went "red". In 2000, Gore pointed out that the state was headed for a major budget shortfall under Bush. Oh No were our GOP leaders. Next session, in order to balance the budget, the legislature pushed significant medical costs back to state employees. In 2006, Perry lead nus into this godawful "tax swap". The GOP Comptroller predicted that we would see major budjet deficits, almost to the penny. The last legislative session was also facing a draconian deficit until Perry (talking out of both sides of his face the entire time) took billions in stimulus money, most of it meant for education, and used it to balance the budget. Comes this legislative session and without the money from the Fed we are faced with over 20 + billion budget deficit. SO MUCH FOR GOP AND TPARTY FISCAL RESPONSIBLITY. You boys could not manage a lemonade stand without Federal Dollars.
Also, you should keep telling yourself it's only a handful of liberals. Its not. And you will see the results nationally next election. And your BS about the age of people showing up. Keep telling yourself that. But there are alot more Seniors opposed to picking up an additioanl $6,000 in medical costs annually while your boys are busy passing billions in tax cuts for big oil.
Dale Curry
@ Patricia AMEN! The tparty and GOP are all about free enterprise until it gets to be their contributiors that are at the trough. Then its all about Corp welfare while destroying the social safety net.
Patricia Wood
@Michael---dream on. Carl and I are not the only ones in an outrage about the govt fire sale taking place in Austin and DC. I and most of my 65+ yr old friends do not intend to stand idly by and watch while the Republicans destroy medicare for our younger friends and neighbors (below the age of 55). Nor will be twiddle our thumbs and watch our kids' and grandchildren's opportunities destroyed so that the yacht owners, oil companies, and other bandidos keep enriching themselves. Personally, I would like someone to track down how our infamous Gov Goodhair amassed a small fortune while remaining on the gov't dole. Anybody else out there interested in following the money?
Michael B Openshaw
Patricia: And me and my friends (who SERIOUSLY have outnumbered yours, both at the town halls AND the polls) won't allow you to leave the younger generation a bankrupt nation that can't PAY from ANY of those benefits. And please don't come back with the standard 'Tax the rich' laugher (the numbers simply don't add up: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/04/eat-the-rich/237000/) . You might want to ask some of your 'younger' friends if they think they'll be able to count on the government's resources by then. They're smarter than you are on that point.
Dale, A huge part of that budget deficit- and the deficit other fiscally responsible states are facing- are all the unfunded federal requirements being pushed down by Washington; just take a look at the Medicare/Medicaid increases. It's merely pushing a big chunk of Washington spending insanity down off their books onto ours. And it WILL get worse if DC does NOT control spending in a REAL sense.
Dale Curry
@ MIke The bankrupting of America occurred under Bush/Cheney. And if you think we are going to go back to that nightmare, well its not going to happen. Two wars and Part D coverage while borrowing the money from the Chinese does not a good leader make. Then there is the no bid contracts for Halliburton et al. Contrary to the lies the tparty have been propagating, the deficit was 1.3 trillion in the hole the day Obama took office. While GOP/tparty types might scream the lie long enough, it does not make it any more the truth. You know like the death panel and birthers lies your friends have lied about already. Furthermore, as our economy was teetering on the edge of economic collapse, thanks to Bush’s refusal to regulate the financial industry even when they KNEW it was a bubble in 05. The state of the economy when he took office required some very unpopular and distasteful steps. The stimulus and TARP were two of those measures. While tparty and GOP liars would blame the president, the truth is much different. . And lastly, the TPARTY lost all credibility on unfunded mandates last night with the passage of Sanctuary (“what a BS name, like death panels”) City legislation. Hope you and your family are well.
Healthy Texan
Micheal Openshaw...........if those politicians that you and I supported at the polls to get these majorities would utilize all of our health care providers then perhaps we could save more money. In many states nurse practitioners are allowed to practice up to their education and certification and free from physician oversight. Here in Texas nurse practitioners are "supervised" by physicians who are required to be onsite 1 out of every 10 days and are supposed to review a random 10% of the charts. The nurse practitioners bill under the physician billing code and at a higher rate. The state could save millions in Medicaid funds by removing these silly supervision requirements and allow nurse practitioners to practice autonomously.
Nurse practitioners are reimbursed at 92% of the 100% physician rate under Medicaid. They are reimbursed at 85% compared to the 100% physician rate in Medicare.
Talk about saving some money. However, Texas legislators like Jane Nelson and Lois Kolkhorst are owned by the Texas Medical Association and will never allow nurse practitioners the freedom they have in almost every other state in the Union.