Tag Archives: Medicaid

This is what a government takeover of health care looks like

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s happening right here in Texas. Texas officials express confidence that thousands of low-income women will be able to find new providers should Planned Parenthood be excluded from the state’s Women’s Health Program, but Xelena Gonzalez does not think woman … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit strikes again

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Dammit. A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that Texas did not act unconstitutionally when it moved to expel Planned Parenthood from a health and contraceptive care program for low-income women. The ruling overturned a preliminary injunction, issued in April by … Continue reading →

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“Collateral damage”

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

How’s that war on women going? In the year since deep cuts to family planning funding took effect, the impact has become apparent. An Observer review of state records has found that 146 clinics have lost state funds, clumped mainly … Continue reading →

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The working poor are pretty much screwed in Texas

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

These are the people that Rick Perry doesn’t care about. Jose Gallegos’ company eliminated employee health insurance to save money, so when his gut started hurting and his skin took on a yellow tinge, he resisted seeing a doctor. When … Continue reading →

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Medicaid expansion isn’t just about hospitals

Posted on July 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Grits has an insight. At [last] Monday’s House County Affairs hearing, Chairman Garnet Coleman noted the irony in response to testimony by witnesses regarding the effectiveness of Veterans Courts, which are essentially mental-health courts aimed at current and former military members. … Continue reading →

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What will the excuse for austerity be now?

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We’re in the money, as it were. Comptroller Susan Combs on Wednesday released updated details of how much money Texas is expected to collect in taxes and fees in fiscal year 2013, which begins on Sept. 1. The report, prepared … Continue reading →

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Perry versus the insurance companies

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Quien es mas macho? Texas Gov. Rick Perry says he rejects the “Obamacare power grab” and will block measures expanding health insurance to millions in his state. The country’s second-biggest health insurer is betting he won’t succeed. The same day … Continue reading →

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Medicaid expansion: Not as expensive as the state claimed it would be

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Remember last year when the state Health and Human Services Commission claimed that Medicaid expansion would cost the state of Texas $27 billion over ten years, causing every Republican in the state to have a fainting spell and a hissy … Continue reading →

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No Medicaid expansion for you!

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

So much for that. Texas will not expand Medicaid or establish a health insurance exchange, two major tenets of the federal health reform that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld last month, Gov. Rick Perry said in an early morning announcement. … Continue reading →

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We’re #50!

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The state of Texas is dead last in delivering health care. The 2011 State Snapshots report is based on 155 quality measures gathered by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human … Continue reading →

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What will Texas do now?

Posted on July 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Now that the Affordable Care Act has been upheld by the Supreme Court, there are two big issues that Texas will have to face. (*) One is the health care exchanges, and the other is Medicaid expansion, now that there’s … Continue reading →

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Yvonne Gutierrez: Republican support for women’s health?

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from a series of guest posts that I will be presenting over the next few weeks. We all know there is a lot at stake for the 2012 election cycle. All eyes are on Washington but the … Continue reading →

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Planned Parenthood and Texas back in court

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I presume this was the appeal of the injunction that was granted to Planned Parenthood in their lawsuit challenging the state’s attempt to destroy the Women’s Health Program. A federal appeals court will review a new Texas rule that prohibits … Continue reading →

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A trio of trial updates

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Planned Parenthood versus Texas: A ruling affecting health care, including contraception, for some 130,000 low-income Texas women probably won’t come until late this year as Planned Parenthood and the state of Texas plan for mid-October oral arguments in their legal … Continue reading →

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Texas gets stay of injunction

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

And just like that, we’re back where we started. Late last night, a federal appeals court judge granted Texas an emergency stay halting Planned Parenthood’s participation in the Women’s Health Program. Justice Jerry Smith of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court … Continue reading →

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Injunction granted to Planned Parenthood

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A federal judge on Monday stopped Texas from preventing Planned Parenthood from getting state funds through the Women’s Health Program. U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel in Austin ruled there is sufficient evidence that a law banning Planned Parenthood from … Continue reading →

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The state shows its intent in Planned Parenthood lawsuit

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas in order to block the “Affiliate Rule” that Rick Perry is using to deny Medicaid funds to their clinics for the Women’s Health Program. In the opening … Continue reading →

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Rick Perry’s vision for women’s health in Texas

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

More talk than action, and the numbers don’t add up. Are we surprised? Texas health officials have delivered a proposal to the federal government that outlines their plans for transitioning the Women’s Health Program from a program primarily supported by … Continue reading →

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Planned Parenthood sues Texas

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Two can play at that game. Planned Parenthood affiliates in Texas filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday to block a rule aimed at excluding their health centers from the Medicaid Women’s Health Program. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Austin, … Continue reading →

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One million uninsured kids

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

One point two million uninsured kids in Texas, actually. But who’s counting? More than 1 million Texas children remain without health insurance, and those kids are not getting the care they need. The startling condition of the state’s children came … Continue reading →

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The Texas bait and switch

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

You almost have to admire the sheer brazenness of it all. Almost. In a fiscal switcheroo, Texas could free up state dollars to fund the embattled Women’s Health Program by seeking federal block grants for other programs, the state’s health … Continue reading →

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And then they went right back to not caring about women

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Such a delightfully cynical little stunt. Thirteen Republican members of the Texas congressional delegation wrote a letter to President Obama protesting the administration’s decision to phase out funding for the Texas Women’s Health Program. The administration took the action after … Continue reading →

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Mockery is the best medicine

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Business Insider comes across the Facebook fun. Women aren’t too happy with Rick Perry’s stance on family planning funding. Today, they let him know the best way they could, with some well-directed Internet snark. Posts asking Perry’s advice about everything … Continue reading →

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Abbott files suit over WHP

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Say what? Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is filing yet another lawsuit against the federal government, this one, no surprise, over the Women’s Health Program. Federal health officials announced Thursday what state leaders had predicted for weeks: that they are … Continue reading →

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Bye-bye, WHP

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Thanks, Rick! Federal health officials announced Thursday what state leaders have predicted for weeks: that they are halting funding for Texas’ Women’s Health Program. Cindy Mann, director of the federal Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services, said Texas left her … Continue reading →

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Trying to find a way with the WHP

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I admire and applaud the effort. I abhor the fact that it was needed. Leading Houston Democrats in favor of a seemingly doomed health care program for low-income women are pushing to bypass the state to keep federal money flowing … Continue reading →

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Pediatric dental care

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s more important than you might think. While overall oral health care for adults and children has improved, tooth decay continues to be the most common chronic disease among children. It can have serious social and health consequences when untreated … Continue reading →

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Perry’s empty promise on the Women’s Health Program

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Our Governor talks big, but his words have no meaning. The state will find the cash to continue a women’s health program whose federal funding is threatened because of a decision to keep Planned Parenthood from participating, Gov. Rick Perry … Continue reading →

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It’s time to go on the offensive for women’s health

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I believe that just as Democrats must make the 2012 elections in Texas about public education, they must also make them about health care, in particular access to health care for women. There’s some polling data to suggest this will … Continue reading →

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Millions more Texans will have health insurance under the Affordable Care Act

Posted on March 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t happen soon enough. The percentage of Texans with health insurance will increase to 91 percent – up from 74 percent today – after the national health care law takes effect in 2014, the state’s Medicaid director told lawmakers Monday. … Continue reading →

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A place to start

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

At least one elected Republican is feeling a bit angsty about the Republican war on women’s health. For some GOP lawmakers, the issue gets deeply personal, and the line between party loyalty, allegiance to anti-abortion politics and public health is … Continue reading →

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Who cares about women, anyway?

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The state of Texas certainly doesn’t. If there was any hope that the state was seeking a compromise with the federal government over Texas’ Women’s Health Program, it’s fading fast. At the direction of lawmakers and Texas Attorney General Greg … Continue reading →

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No, there won’t be a special session to help the public schools

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Someone managed to catch Rick Perry during the few minutes he was in the office this week to ask about about having a special session to appropriate some of the extra Rainy Day funds to mitigate the cuts to public … Continue reading →

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Don’t expect the next budget to be any better than this one

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing a theme I’ve harped on here, if state legislators thought that they solved Texas’ budget issues this year they are sadly mistaken. Some experts say Texas tax revenues must zoom far above forecasts, if we’re to escape another miserable … Continue reading →

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