The group cautions that the more than 8,000 Texans on Medicaid who rely on Planned Parenthood could lose coverage during a pandemic.
Medicaid
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the U.S. And during the pandemic, an estimated 659,000 Texans lost their health care.
The pandemic-driven economic downturn has left more than 5.4 million Americans with no job and no insurance. Texas has one of the largest shares of this increase.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
They lost their jobs and insurance in the pandemic. Now they’re slipping through Texas’ health care safety net.
Texas had the highest uninsured rate of any state before the outbreak. It’s also among a minority of states that have declined to expand Medicaid coverage to people with incomes near or below the poverty line.
Posted in
Health care
Texas cancels controversial Medicaid contracts after complaints of subjective scoring
“This decision is necessary to ensure the contract award processes are conducted with integrity, fairness and transparency,” a spokeswoman for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission said.
Posted in
Health care
Texas improperly picked winners for contracts worth $10 billion, health insurers argue
More than half a dozen health plans are appealing the contract decisions for STAR+PLUS, the state’s privatized insurance program for elderly, blind and disabled Texans.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2019
Texas removes thousands of children from Medicaid each month due to red tape, records show
Most states check once a year whether children on Medicaid still qualify for the program. Texas checks more often, using an automated system that critics say leads to kids losing coverage even though they’re still eligible.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2019
Texas Senate passes two-year budget with money for property tax cuts — but no plan for how to spend it
The Senate budget also includes a $6.3 billion boost for public schools, about $4 billion of which would increase teachers’ and librarians’ annual salaries by $5,000.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2019
A federal safety net funds health care for uninsured Texans. Time is running short to negotiate its renewal.
A federal program known as the 1115 waiver helps pay for the costs of providing health care to the uninsured. Advocates want the Texas Legislature to order a renegotiation of the waiver, which partially expires in 2021.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2019
Voters in four states have approved Medicaid expansion by ballot. Will Texas do the same?
Idaho, Maine, Nebraska and Utah voters approved Medicaid expansion through ballot initiatives. Now Texas legislators have filed bills for a vote over whether the state should expand coverage for the joint federal-state health insurance program.
Posted in
Health care
Texas optometrists “just roll our eyes” over treatment restrictions in the state
Amid what some call an eye care crisis, Texas optometrists are hoping the Legislature will give them more power to help patients without needing other doctors. But ophthalmologists say allowing optometrists more power would put patients’ vision at risk.
