TribBlog: Medicaid Madness

Our story about Texas Republicans considering opting out of the federal Medicaid program took on a life of its own this weekend.

Gov. Rick Perry got in on the action on CNN's State of the Union with Candy Crowley on Sunday, saying Texas could create its own insurance program for the state's Medicaid population — or else the federal government could allow Texas to pick and choose the elements of Medicaid it wants to participate in without the strings attached. (Experts say that last idea is unlikely to gain much traction in Washington.)

Then Parkland Hospital chief Ron Anderson went on Dallas radio — the KRLD Midday News with Scott Braddock and Mitch Carr — to call the concept "so bizarre as to be unworthy of consideration." (Listen here.)