Fall is Here and That Means One Big Thing

Below is content from our September e-newsletter last week. Subscribers get special up-to-the-moment content.  Are you on our list?

Welcome fall, that time of year when Texans get out and root for their side

It's time to rally with friends and fellow fans, think through the best plays, and vow not to miss any of the weekly rough-and-tumble, leading up to that one really big kick-off in the new year. That's right, friends . . . Are you ready for some legislature?

Every other year, Texas lawmakers come to Austin and decide the fate of services that shape our communities' health. If you're for Texans getting the health care they need--for keeping our community hospitals and doctors' offices open, our kids insured, and our state on a path to a bright tomorrow--you should know this action starts early. Well before Election Day, there are discussions that drive the choices our lawmakers will make. In fact, major milestone are happening this month with a series of hearings on the question of what Texas should invest in its  services in the years ahead. The governor and lawmakers on the Legislative Budget Board asked all state agencies, including the one responsible for health and human services, to come up with a plan to get by with less. That is something our most-uninsured-in-the-nation state simply cannot afford to do!

So what can you, a diehard fan of a well and healthy Texas, do about all this? 2 ideas:

Pass along this blog post or one of our Facebook, Twitter or email messages on this topic so your friends can know what's at stake and how to take action with you, as the legislative session approaches.

Tune in for the budget hearings to get a feel for how much this process needs your help and your voice.

And speaking of rallying with friends and fellow fans . . . Last Friday, Texans from across the state rallied in Austin to demand that Texas seize an opportunity under the Affordable Care Act to offer Medicaid to over 1 million fellow Texans who otherwise couldn't afford health care. To learn more how the event went, check out the rally Facebook page.

What new data from the Census means for Texas and its children Every September, the U.S. Census releases new information about how many people have health care coverage. Anne Dunkelberg, our campaign's health care policy expert and the Associate Director of the Center for Public Policy Priorities, delved into the data and found some very good news--the number of insured Texans is up, especially among children and young adults. Find out why and what else the census data tell us here.