Texas refuses to join Medicaid expansion

(CBS News) AUSTIN, Texas, - Some states with budget problems are opting out of participating the president's health care law and the cost that is associated with it. Among them is Texas, where 6 million residents who don't have health insurance.

More than half the patients of the Los Barrios Unidos health clinic in Dallas are uninsured. Nearly a third are on Medicaid -- the federally sponsored insurance program for the poor.

Dr. Susan Briner runs the clinic. Of those who come to the facility, Briner replies: "The people without health insurance in Texas are the people who work at low-paying jobs ... the people who work by the hour, who work in restaurants, who work in yards, who work in daycares."

Two million more low income Texans would be covered by the Medicaid expansion prescribed by the Affordable Care Act. But Texas is refusing to participate, joining Wisconsin, Florida and Louisiana.

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Texas would be eligible for $164 billion in federal aid to pay for the expansion through 2020. But Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst says Texas' share of $27 billion would be a heavy burden.

"Quite frankly," he said, "the Medicaid system is broken and by simply adding a million and a half to two million more people to Medicaid will not solve the problem."

Texas will also be the largest state to refuse to create the state-run health care exchanges that would allow people to shop for affordable coverage. In a letter to the Obama administration, Texas Gov. Rick Perry called the requirements "brazen intrusions into the sovereignty of our state."

"It doesn't materially improve the health care of Texans and Americans," said Dewhurst. "And in five short years it will start to bankrupt the state of Texas and other states."

Opting out will not stop health care exchanges from being set up in Texas. If the state doesn't do it, federal authorities will.

Now Texas leaders were betting that the Supreme Court would likely strike down the health care law, so they've done little to prepare for the exchanges that must be set up by 2014. A provision in the health care law does specify that even federal authorities do set up the exchanges, Texas could petition to take over those exchanges eventually at some point if they chose to.

[ajain31]

Hello Friends,

Governor Rick Perry millions of under-privileged poor Texans who do not have any Health Coverage will be covered under The Affordable Care ACT (ACA) expansion of MEDICAID!

My Physician wife's practice is partly dependent on MEDICAID and its viability. Please allow the expansion of MEDICAID to occur in Texas under The Affordable Care ACT.

Believe it or not IT IS A FACT: If states choose to expand Medicaid, the federal government will cover 100 percent of the costs from 2014 to 2016. The feds' contribution will begin to decrease in 2017, but will never be less than 90 percent, under the ACA.

That's why I created a petition to Governor Rick Perry, Texas Governor, The Texas State House, The Texas State Senate, and Governor Rick Perry, which says:

"Please ACCEPT the FREE EXPANSION of MEDICAID under The Affordable Care ACT."

Will you sign this petition? Click here:
http://signon.org/sign/accept-free-expansion?source=c.em.cp&r_by=7268737

Thanks!

Ajay Jain
[e-mail]
Twitter Handle ajain31
Mobile: [phone]

[ladyang]

And perry just spent 25mil to fix the gov's mansion in TX (with tax payer's money). But would allow 1.2 million residents go w/o healthcare. Good Grief, you neocons/teabagger/evan-taliban are thick!

[lonestar9000]

If it is not done for profit, then Rick Perry is against it.

[WHAT-IS-HE-SMOKING]

by ScumBagObama July 11, 2012 7:51 AM EDT

Yep, your name definitely is appropriate for your mental capacity.

[justsane-2009]

"It doesn't materially improve the health care of Texans and Americans," then you'll be willing to give up your insurance, right bucko? i mean, if it health insurance doesn't improve your health care, why should the good people of texas underwrite your insurance?

[nearl451]

New definition of socialism: Private Insurance.


LOFL.

[paulbip]

What about auto insurance Rick? We are forced to buy auto insurance if we want to drive. You going to end socialism there also?

[freeamerica31]

You don't have to buy insurance if you don't own a car. You have to be health care insurance whether you have an illness or not or get fined a special tax because you chose to opt out.

Why can't we as individuals opt out of the individual mandate and if you go to the ER and don't have health insurance coverage they don't treat you. I can live with that compromise. Opt out and you are personally responsible for yourself and don't get penalized with a special tax.

How refreshing individual responsibility.

[swtaprl]

freeamerica31 -- while a good concept, that would last until the first lawsuit was brought against a healthcare facility that refused to treat someone because of no insurance. I guess in the end, it's cheaper to treat someone with no insurance than it is to pay millions to the family because that someone died for lack of treatment (not to mention what it would cost to defend such a lawsuit). If we are going to do away with the requirement for coverage, we need to protect any and all facilities from such lawsuits, and it should be ironclad. Do you see that happening?