TX Medicaid expansion hearing Tuesday!

It's going to be a big few days in the fight for health care at the Texas Legislature!

First, as you know, on Monday at 10:00 am is Let The People Vote! Texas Rally for Medicaid Expansion. We hope you're planning to join us. Remember to bundle up for the cold!

Then, on Tuesday, for the first time in several years, there will be a public hearing at the Texas Capitol on legislation to expand Medicaid!

Specifically, the Insurance Committee in the Texas House will hold a hearing on HB 565 by Rep. Garnet Coleman, a tireless health care champion from Houston. The bill would expand Medicaid in Texas to cover janitors, cooks, construction workers, child care teachers, and other uninsured low-wage workers. The bill would also codify the Affordable Care Act, including protections for pre-existing medical conditions, into Texas law.

We encourage health care supporters to consider providing brief testimony at the hearing. The Committee will start discussing the five bills on its agenda at 8:00 am, though it is difficult to predict what time during the day the Committee will bring up HB 565.

Can't make it to the hearing? You can still raise your voice!

You can call the members of the Insurance Committee today, Monday, or Tuesday and urge them to support the bill! (If you call the Committee Chairman, Rep. Eddie Lucio III, be sure to thank him for holding the hearing.)

In the coming days, and especially during Monday's rally and Tuesday's hearing, we also encourage you to join the #TXHealthCareVoter discussion on Twitter to keep up with the latest developments on the push for Medicaid expansion in Texas.

Remember, if you need background information, you can check out our one-pager on Medicaid expansion and reducing the Texas uninsured rate. 

Let's make the next few days the start of a great new chapter in the Texas fight for health care!