Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday called the Medicaid expansion piece of federal health reform “fiscal coercion,” and blamed conservatives who have embraced it for folding "in the face of federal bribery and mounting pressure.”

Ahead of his Thursday speech before the Conservative Political Action Conference, Gov. Rick Perry has sent a letter to members of Texas' congressional delegation asking them to fight for flexibility for the state's Medicaid program. 

As state legislators consider what “a Texas solution” to Medicaid expansion would look like, others have begun addressing the question of how Medicaid expansion would affect the state budget and local taxes.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, the state's largest health insurance provider, is launching a campaign aimed at getting Texans enrolled in health plans through an online marketplace created by federal health reform.

News that the federal government has negotiated with Arkansas to allow that state to use billions of dollars in Medicaid funds to buy private health insurance for the state's poorest residents has some Texas Republicans intrigued. 

Full video of Emily Ramshaw's 2/27 TribLive conversation about health care with state Rep. John Zerwas, R-Simonton, and state Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown.

Medicaid in Texas should be expanded only after the program is tailored to Texas, reimbursement rates for providers are raised, and patients are responsible for co-pays and deductibles.

Texas Medicaid is rife with problems and expanding it under the federal Affordable Care Act would just make things worse. The state should design its own health care model that would control costs and improve outcomes for patients.

If the pressure to expand Medicaid is getting to Gov. Rick Perry — now seven Republican governors, including his friend Rick Scott in Florida, support accepting federal dollars to cover poor adults — he’s not letting on.

It's politically unpopular among most Texas Republicans, but proposals to expand Medicaid coverage have gained traction with some fiscal conservatives. This interactive shows the estimated economic impact of expanding Medicaid by legislative district. 

Freshman state Rep. Jason Villalba, R-Dallas, has been held up by some Republicans as a symbol of the party’s growing popularity with Hispanics. He says he is only motivated by the issues facing his constituents.

At Wednesday's TribLive conversation, House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, held open the possibility of a compromise with the federal government on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

Health care advocates flocked to the Capitol on Thursday to urge the Senate Finance Committee to consider expanding Medicaid, restoring funding for family planning services and improving the state’s health care delivery system.

Use our county-by-county interactive to track annual local spending on unreimbursed health care costs, and to see how those figures compare to the federal dollars counties would receive under the Medicaid expansion.

At last Friday's Hot Seat conversation at the University of Texas at Arlington, state Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-Fort Worth, and state Rep. Diane Patrick, R-Arlington, talked about public education, health care, the state budget and other issues in play in the 83rd session.

Texas' Republican leadership is adamant that Texas will not expand Medicaid, a major tenet of federal health reform. A report by the state's former deputy comptroller and former chief revenue estimator suggests that would be short-sighted. 

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Sen. Jane Nelson on Wednesday discussed new Senate proposals that target Medicaid spending. The plans would institute quality-based payment reforms for long-term care services and measures to catch fraud and abuse.

As they contemplate whether to expand Medicaid, Texas lawmakers will weigh factors including enrollment growth, costs and savings, and the effects on the rate of insured. This interactive breaks down the numbers connected to those factors.