Texans Call for Medicaid Expansion at State Hearing in Dallas

For planning purposes: Wednesday, June 2, 2021
Contacts: Daniel Barrera, [email protected], (214) 957-6234

DALLAS — Texas will hold public hearings this month on the use of Medicaid dollars, weeks after the Biden Administration reversed a last-minute Trump Administration extension of Texas Medicaid funding without the required public input.

After the Biden administration's decision in April, Texas Medicaid announced it will submit a new application to extend a pool of federal Medicaid dollars for Texas which would otherwise expire in October 2022. Under federal law, the state must collect public comments and reflect those in its application. 

At these hearings, speakers will continue to emphasize that a majority of Texans support  expanding Medicaid and urge the state to amend its application to include expanded Medicaid coverage, created through billions in readily available federal funds, that will cover more than 1 million Texans and actually save the state money.

The first of three hearings in the state, conducted by the Texas Health & Human Services Commission, will be in Dallas on Wednesday, June 2.  

What: Public Hearing on Texas’ Proposed Medicaid Funding Request to the Federal Government (officially known as the “Proposed 1115 Texas Healthcare Transformation Quality Improvement Program (THTQIP) Waiver Extension Application”)

When:  Wednesday, June 2, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. CDT

Where: UT Southwestern Medical Center, T. Boone Pickens Building Auditorium (6001 Forest Park Rd, Dallas, TX 75235)

MORE BACKGROUND:

The state’s proposed application asks for funding to reimburse hospitals for emergency care provided to uninsured Texans, and to offset uninsured services provided by local health departments and mental health authorities — a request that advocates support. But the state’s proposal thus far does not include funding for actual healthcare coverage for uninsured Texans. 

Increasing numbers of Texans are frustrated by the failure of out-of-touch state leaders in the recently concluded legislative session to help more Texans access health coverage. Recent statewide polls report 69% of Texans support Medicaid expansion to reduce the number of uninsured Texans.

Given the legislature’s failure to hold a single public hearing on the numerous bills this year to expand health coverage, Wednesday’s hearing represents Texans’ first chance to ask state officials directly for a health coverage solution — in this case by including one in its federal application — and many are expected to do so, both in-person and virtually.

Texans will insist that they need more than emergency care. Without insurance, Texans have no affordable access to preventive care, prescriptions, or ongoing treatment for chronic illnesses — all of which helps them stay out of the hospital. They also can’t receive follow-up care after an emergency visit.

Many essential frontline workers — child care providers, home health and nursing aides, grocery clerks, and other Texans with low-wage jobs — are currently forced to choose between taking on back-breaking medical debt or ignoring pressing health needs.

Texans testifying in Dallas on Wednesday are striving to change that.

This will be the first of three public hearings on the state’s request for Medicaid funding. The others will be held virtually on June 10, and both virtually and in-person, in Austin, on June 15.

Public comments, provided at each of the three hearings and through written comments which can be emailed to HHSC until June 28, will become part of the state’s official application to the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This provides Texans a key opportunity to influence negotiations between state and federal officials on the future of healthcare in Texas.

If you wish to connect with a healthcare stakeholder, affected Texan, or advocacy organization, please email Daniel Barrera ([email protected]).

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