75°
65º | 79°
A resolution for the Texas Legislature to expand health care access statewide passed unanimously in the Harris County Commissioners Court, but later failed in the Texas House.
The resolution, led by County Court Judge Lina Hidalgo, wanted to expand the health coverage for low-income residents through a 1115 Medicaid waiver.
"Texas has the highest percentage of uninsured citizens (20%). Millions have to decide between medical care and putting food on the table. This week we passed a unanimous, bipartisan resolution in Commissioners Court urging the Texas Legislature to expand health care access now," Hidalgo said in a tweet.
Laura Guerra-Cardus, deputy director of the Children’s Defense Fund and a leader of the SickofitTX Campaign, told Spectrum News 1 that something has to be done to help the more than 1.4 million uninsured Texans.
"If Texas fails to expand coverage this session, over 1.4 million Texans — including essential workers in child care, home health, the service industry and many other essential jobs — will remain unable to access health care or to financially protect themselves and their families. Texas cannot recover while Texans are not covered,” Guerra-Cardus said, as reported by Spectrum News 1.
The 1115 demonstration wavier would have allowed for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to negotiate a funds agreement with the federal government, that would cover more uninsured Texans without expanding the Medicaid program itself, the Brownwood Bulletin reported.
"The KFF estimate also shows that nearly 800,000 Texans were in the 'coverage gap,' meaning their income was below the poverty level and, under current state law, they likely had no affordable insurance option. The rest of the 1.4 million Texans have incomes between the poverty level and 138% of the poverty line. In addition to covering adults, Medicaid expansion has been shown to indirectly decrease the children’s uninsured rate by connecting more families with health coverage," Spectrum News 1 reported.
Last week, the Biden administration rescinded the federal 1115 waiver, leaving a number of clinics that relied on the waiver no longer able to cover the cost of medical care for those uninsured or underinsured.
According to Reform Austin, the 1115 wavier helped Texans get the care needed while still preserving the hospital funding, as funding was reimburse by the government. With the waiver now not being provided, services to low-income individuals will be not provided.
The Texas House denied the resolution in a vote 80-68, as opponents of the bill say it would cost the state too much to fund.