August 19, 2015      8:16 PM
GOP opposition emerges to huge cuts in Medicaid services for disabled Texas children
Democrats were quick to voice anger, but now a growing number of heavy-hitting Republicans say HHSC needs to slow down and consider the potential impact: “We can’t allow this to happen.”
Now
that a plan to slash state funding for a therapy program for severely disabled
children has become better known, a growing number of Republicans – including
the Texas
Senate's Transportation Committee Chairman and a key House
appropriator – have raised serious questions and asked the Health and Human Services Commission
not to implement the changes until their impact has been fully studied.
Quorum
Report learned
late Wednesday that HHSC Commissioner Chris Traylor has so far received
letters of concern from Republican legislators including Sen. Robert Nichols and state Reps. Four Price, John Zerwas, Brooks Landgraf, James Frank,
Trent Ashby, and Charles “Doc” Anderson.
Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Humble, has publicly
opposed the cuts since their inception at the end of the legislative session. Huberty
voiced his concern on the House floor and the suburban Republican received no answer as to why the drastic cuts were targeted at a program that helps some of the most vulnerable Texans. Additionally,
more than 60 Democratic lawmakers have signed letters asking Commissioner
Traylor to delay and reconsider the changes.
The proposed
cuts are scheduled to take effect September 1st, though a lawsuit has
been filed and a hearing is set for Monday that could put the rate cuts on
hold.
As
proposed, the new rates would slash by 25 to 90 percent what the state pays
providers of physical, occupational and speech therapy for poor children with
severe disabilities. This would save the state $150 million on
Medicaid spending over the next two years, satisfying a budget rider,
but would also cause the state to lose $200 million in federal dollars,
reducing total funding for the Medicaid Acute Care Therapy Program
by more than half. Stakeholders say thousands of providers will be forced out
of business, causing between 60,000 and 70,000 children to lose access to
medically necessary care, particularly in rural areas.
“I am
writing to ask that HHSC ensure consideration of all aspects of this proposed
adjustment prior to implementation of any change,” wrote Rep. Price, who led
the Sunset
Commission report on HHSC. “I ask that your ultimate decision carefully
weighs the needs of patients living in rural communities,” he said.
By Emily DePrang
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