Pitts Readies Constituents for Coming Budget Cuts
Here’s how Jim Pitts interprets the Election Day results: “We’re making huge cuts,” the Waxahachie Republican who chairs the House Appropriations Committee told a hometown Tea Party group last week.
The legislative session starts in January, but Pitts and other finance types have been at work for months. Now they’re finding out whether voters really want the cuts they seemed to be demanding when they went to the polls.
Pitts told the crowd that the state is studying Medicaid and other forms of government-run health care with the idea of getting out of it. A man in ...
Comments (14)
jpt51
So the state with the most uninsured in the nation is going to take a hatchet job to the poor and unemployed to protect their special interest (insurance companies) pals? With the Feds picking up 80% or more of Medicaid’s tab it shows how little our leaders, Perry, Dewhurst and Pitts understand the programs they are in charge of. Eighty five percent of Medicaid funds go to pay doctors, hospitals, pharmacies and nursing homes. Poor kids on Medicaid do better in school, becoming more productive citizens that as adults pay more in taxes.
The gentleman who asked if his friend will be on the streets did not get an honest answer from Rep. Pitts. There’s no way our state is going to be able to adequately keep any poor in the nursing home if they eliminate Medicaid. To me, Perry and friends are using a lot of hot air bravado to take another dig at Obama. it's an easy way to divert the citizenry of our own shortcomings. In practice, eliminating Medicaid will cost Texas as people flood the emergency rooms, file suits for non service,we end up with a less educated workforce and more people in jail. What a future Republicans are offering. Why are they so short sighted, mean spirited to the youg and elderly? Where are their, family values and right to life? All we get from these guys is lip service.
I'm a former mgr. of Texas' children's medicaid program
Dave MacDonald via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Look out schools, highway trust fund and medicaid. The CHIP program will likely disappear as well. This legislature will not pass a law requiring true real estate transaction values either. After all the Repubs must protect the wealthy.
Jack Suggs via Texas Tribune on Facebook
They want to get their hands on the Teachers Retirement Fund, too.
Tracey Schulz via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Perry can say all he wants about how Texas is good for business, but what about it citizens?
Erika Holzinger via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Sounds like Texas is going to become like California .
Mac Mcclure via Texas Tribune on Facebook
I've had to make cuts at my house why shouldn't the government?
Jamie Lewis via Texas Tribune on Facebook
but perry said we had a balanced budget and were in great shape because of his awesome leadership. perry: FAIL
sgre144
Let's assume that our brilliant legislators decide to egress from Medicaid, forgoing the $15 bil in federal funding, and then reduce state Medicaid expenditures from the $7 bil. today to $5 bil. Because of their brilliance, Medicaid enrollment is reduced by only 50%, from 4 mil to 2 mil. Being able to reduce aggregate expenditures by 80% and enrollment by only 50% is surely sufficient to qualify our legislature for a nomination for the Nobel Prize in Economics. We would now find 1/3 of all Texans w/out health insurance, which would result in Texas having a higher uninsurance rate than Turkey (32.8%) and Mexico (17.5%). Being No. 1 among the developed world is quite an accomplishment. I would hope that we'd be able to provide the 8 million uninsured Texans w/ at least tea to remedy their medical needs. My mother always gave us warm tea and honey when we weren't feeling well.
Melody Simon via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Yeah, I don't understand this either. According to Perry's campaigning, we are in excellent fiscal shape. Did Perry lie to us? Did we go belly-up in just one month?
Brenda Duncan via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Uh...Perry definitely looked right into the camera and spoke some big whoppers on his political ads. We need some libel and slander laws to take effect with regards to false advertising on political advertising.
Jack Suggs via Texas Tribune on Facebook
The truth is out there, and was before the election.
sherryl clark
I work with abused children in foster care and with the elderly and see the effect of cuts Perry and others are so proud of making. Money is taken away from the poor and people that are unable to speak clearly for themselves. The rich people are protected while the poor suffer. Yet, according to Perry, Texas is such a great state and "open for business".
Opting out of Medicaid will hurt Texas greatly and will be a huge mistake and cost more in the long run.
Mark Lusk
He seems to relish hurting those who have so little and need so much. Texas is dead last on most measures of child welfare, access to health care, and distribution of wealth.
Melody Simon via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Sarcasm apparently doesn't read well on the internet.