Feds Tell Texas to Reapply for Hospital Funds Under Medicaid Waiver
A decision on Friday by federal officials has ignited more discussions in Texas about Medicaid expansion.
Federal officials rescinded a ten-year extension of hospital funding for Texas, noting that the state's application failed to follow federal rules. The funding, provided under the 1115 Medicaid waiver, is still in place until October 2022. The funding was always intended to be a temporary solution while Texas implemented Medicaid expansion and reduced the need for that hospital funding to cover the bills of uninsured patients.
Moving forward, Texas should develop a plan that draws down Medicaid expansion funding to cover adults with low wages and ensures hospitals continue to receive federal funds for the cost of treating Texans who remain uninsured.
To learn more about the decision, what it means, and where we go from here, check out:
these statements from Every Texan, Children's Defense Fund-Texas, and Texas 2036;
the response from a bipartisan group of legislators;
these Houston Chronicle columns by Erica Grieder and Chris Tomlinson; and
this cheeky response from our friends at Texas Impact.