Through a transformational Medicaid waiver, Texas plans to launch 1,100 experimental projects over the next two years to change the way health care is delivered to the state’s poor and uninsured. This interactive shows the regional distribution of $3.2 billion for projects the federal government approved in May and the percent of each region that is uninsured. Underneath the map is a detailed description of the approved projects from the Health and Human Services Commission.
To receive the federal dollars, health care providers across 20 Texas regions must start the projects using local financing and meet some performance benchmarks. That has presented a particular challenge to the state’s poorest regions, where the rates of uninsured are higher and more people receive Medicaid benefits.
| Region | Financing | Uninsured |
|---|
| Provider | Project Description | Proposed Value* |
|---|
*This is the project value proposed by the health care provider. The value of some projects has been adjusted by the federal government.
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Comments (21)
Luisa Inez Newton via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Texas has 16 of the poorest counties in the USA, yet the Texas government expects those poor counties to come up with financing for health care?
Dave Mundy via Texas Tribune on Facebook
When did it become government's responsibility to provide health care?
Dave Mundy via Texas Tribune on Facebook
In other words, the federal government has found an end-run around Texas' objections to implementation of Obamacare and will use these "waivers" to eventually paint the state into a corner where it will have to comply or risk having uninformed voters revolt.
Luisa Inez Newton via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Haven't you ever seen the words "general welfare" in the Constitution? Are you afraid of the USA becoming as 'civilized' as France, Germany, the UK, Scandinavia, Switzerland and Australia?
Luisa Inez Newton via Texas Tribune on Facebook
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
Dave Mundy via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Have you ever studied 18th Century English? If you had, you'd realize that the words "general welfare" mean "promote the common good," not "provide everyone with government-run services."
Luisa Inez Newton via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Why should Texans be forced to pay tax dollars to a program our idiot governor will not allow us to participate in?
Dave Mundy via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Precisely. We shouldn't have to pay for it if we don't participate in it.
Luisa Inez Newton via Texas Tribune on Facebook
The health of our citizens is common good! Duh! You'd prefer expensive emergency room health care and 25% of all Texas kids with NO insurance?
Luisa Inez Newton via Texas Tribune on Facebook
"But hospitals in states that declined to expand Medicaid such as Texas stand to lose the federal funding without a corresponding increase Medicaid-covered patients to offset it. The decision not to expand means potentially millions of residents in those states who would have been eligible for the expanded Medicaid coverage will continue going to the emergency room when they are sick and hospitals will be stuck with the bill."
Angela Cowan- Groves via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Experimental ? How so !?
Luisa Inez Newton via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Our federal income taxes are paying for it, Dave. Get it through your head, but the GOP dictators are not allowing us to participate because they're backwards idiots who can't even acknowledge how many millions of dollars they're wasting.
Bambi Clark via Texas Tribune on Facebook
GOP dictators will cost the state lives and $$$$. Even Jan Brewer can do math better than our TEApublicans.
Luisa Inez Newton via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Exactly, Bambi. Dave doesn't realize that our property taxes currently pay for the over-the-top expenses at emergency rooms and we'd all be a lot better off with Obamacare.
Casey Bennett via Texas Tribune on Facebook
If u want Obamacare. Move out
Jan Mitchell Johnson via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Such compassion on this thread! Such care for your fellow man, however less fortunate. I'm so proud to be an American. Ugh.
Dave Mundy via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Actually Luisa, I'd prefer that the exorbitant medical malpractice rates which have driven health-care costs sky-high got cut to something reasonable, drug companies were forced to sell their products to Americans at the same (cheap) price they sell elsewhere around the globe, and we as a society were able to rid ourselves of the notion that there is a pill for everything. I was the oldest in a family with five boys, and we managed to make it into adulthood without ever having to have "insurance" because the fees our parents were charged were not artificially jacked.
Dave Mundy via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Compassion is wonderful when you're allowed to be compassionate instead of being REQUIRED to be compassionate, ma'am.
Scott Chase via Texas Tribune on Facebook
I hope the grantees promote these new services so that potential participants really know about the increased access.
Kimberly Williams via Texas Tribune on Facebook
@Dave,the ACA actually does address all of those things (and a lot more). the 'problem' with those who are uninsured is that WE DO pay for it regardless (in several forms). since we do not allow people to die regardless of their ability to pay), doctors/hospitals are ethically bound to save those lives, and that becomes terribly expensive (for several reasons outside of insurance rates), because that requires crisis care, and life saving measures. it is far LESS expensive for preventing/managing illness than crisis care/emergency (cancer screening vs cancer treatment... one of the biggies we pay for. the other is unintended pregnancy and the associated cost... heaven forbid it is high risk ).
Kimberly Williams via Texas Tribune on Facebook
also I can site several supreme court decisions where the govt did conclude their role in providing health care. after all, we have public health departments. and i have the authority to quarantine you to ensure the health/general welfare of the public. in 2014, TX will have 150 million people who do not make enough to afford insurance, but their income will be too high for medicaid... we will be picking up that tab, and it will be expensive. i encourage you to read the must current CBO report, as well as the kaiser foundation study. Now our federal taxes will go to pay for medicaid expansions in other states, when that $ could be circulating in this state.