Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) - June 22, 2017
We finally know what’s in the secret bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and it’s still bad. The U.S. Senate is expected to vote next week on their disastrous health care repeal bill, which has made a few changes from the House-passed version, but in some critical ways it’s worse. Key problems in the […]
The post Help Stop Health Care Repeal: Call Your Senators Now appeared first on Better Texas Blog.
Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) - June 21, 2017
The Texas Health Insurance Marketplace and the individual market more broadly became less stable in 2017 as some high-profile insurers exited the market and others increased rates. Premiums for the “benchmark” plan (the second-lowest cost silver plan) in the Marketplace increased 11.7 percent in 2017 in Texas and 21.3 percent nationally. Studies have pointed to […]
The post Federal Actions Cause Further Erosion of Individual Market Stability appeared first on Better Texas Blog.
Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) - June 20, 2017
Cover Texas Now Coalition - June 14, 2017
Today, 25 Texas organizations sent a letter to Senators John Cornyn and Tex Cruz expressing their concerns about legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The letter highlights that the bill includes a “per-capita cap” plan to make deep permanent cuts to Medicaid, which would cut Texas Medicaid funding by an estimated $1.5 billion per year. The letter points out that those...
Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) - June 12, 2017
Heroin and prescription drug addiction in the U.S. has skyrocketed over the past 25 years. Millions of people across the country are struggling to access needed substance use disorder (SUD) treatment services and are unable to recover. On May 17, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Rob Portman (R-OH), Sharon Brown (D-OH), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), […]
The post Addiction Treatment: Expanded Access or Dramatic Cuts? appeared first on Better Texas Blog.
Cover Texas Now Coalition - June 1, 2017
Over the next couple weeks, it’s critical that we continue to raise our voices about health care in phone calls and emails to our U.S. Senators, rallies in our communities, social media posts, letters to editor, and any other ways you can think of.
We also need to make sure our message doesn’t let them off the hook.
Many Senators are saying that they won’t support “the House bill...
Children's Defense Fund--Texas - May 30, 2017
As a songwriter and musician in Nashville and in Texas, I always worked side jobs to make ends meet. Until the Affordable Care Act, I rarely made enough money to afford insurance. Yearly checkups didn’t happen, and I would go years between mammograms – which are recommended annually for women starting at age 45. I was taking risks. I was gambling my health would be good.
Thanks to...
Texans Care for Children - May 29, 2017
Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) - May 26, 2017
The Texas Senate and House of Representatives have agreed on a $217 billion 2018-2019 budget, officially named Senate Bill 1. Eva DeLuna Castro has a good overview of the whole budget. Let’s take a closer look at the funding for Medicaid. Total funding for Medicaid in 2018-2019 is $62.4 billion All Funds ($26.3 billion non-federal). […]
The post Looking at Medicaid in the 2018-2019 Texas Budget appeared first on Better Texas Blog.
Children's Defense Fund--Texas - May 25, 2017
I was diagnosed with lupus when I was 16 years old. After college, I began working for a nonprofit that did not offer health insurance. I called all the major health insurance providers but was told over and over again that they could not insure me due to my preexisting condition. Later, after finding a new job, I learned that my preexisting condition would not be covered for the first 10...
Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) - May 24, 2017
Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) - May 24, 2017
Yesterday Gov. Abbott signed SB 507 into law, improving consumer protections related to surprise medical billing. Surprise out-of-network medical bills, sometimes called “balance bills,” happen when insurers and doctors fighting over prices jointly pass the buck to a patient who received out-of-network care unknowingly. The Texas Legislature has worked to address surprise medical bills consistently […]
The post Surprise Medical Billing Bill Signed Into Law appeared first on Better Texas Blog.
Texans Care for Children - May 19, 2017
By Peter Clark, Texans Care for Children
There are plenty of reasons to be outraged about the health care repeal bill in Congress.
One of the worst parts of the bill is the provision to end Medicaid as we know it. The plan would establish a Medicaid “per-capita cap,” similar to a block grant.
That’s essentially a backdoor way to permanently cut Medicaid and shift the costs...
Children's Defense Fund--Texas - May 17, 2017
Five years ago, an aneurysm exploded in the back of my brain. I was airlifted to the hospital for emergency brain surgery. Neurosurgeons repaired the aneurysm, and found two others, both waiting to rupture.
After surgery, complications ensued. My lungs shut down from life-threatening pneumonia, a hospital-acquired infection caused by “superbug” contamination from either the breathing...
Children's Defense Fund--Texas - May 16, 2017
My wife and I both work in the arts and depend on the Affordable Care Act for health coverage.
I am a church musician who went uninsured for many years before getting coverage through the ACA. Claire has worked professionally as an artist for five years, and has held apprenticeships. She was on her parents’ insurance until 2016, and now works at a performing arts center.
In...
Texans Care for Children - May 16, 2017
Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) - May 15, 2017
This session Chairman Garnet Coleman authored the Sandra Bland Act (HB 2702), a comprehensive bill that aimed to change the way civilians and law enforcement officers interact. Chairman John Whitmire of the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice filed the companion, SB 1849. Sandra Bland, an African American woman from Illinois, committed suicide while in a […]
The post Sandra Bland Act at the Capitol appeared first on Better Texas Blog.
Children's Defense Fund--Texas - May 12, 2017
My name is Kyla. My husband and I have three children, two of whom are medically complex. We are hard-working, middle class, tax paying individuals. Without Medicaid and CHIP, we would be financially ruined and there is a very strong chance our children would not be alive today.
Katie, my 11-year-old, is covered by Medicaid as part of the Medically Dependent Children’s Program which has...
Children's Defense Fund--Texas - May 9, 2017
I'm 26 years old. My husband and I eloped in 2014 and we welcomed our first baby in April 2016. I was lucky growing up to have a dad with a state job and good insurance. When I moved away from home, I was still covered by his plan because I was a part-time student. When I ran out of money for school, the ACA had passed, and I was able to stay on his plan until I aged out last November. At that...
Texas Impact - May 8, 2017
The American Health Care Act (AHCA) passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 217-213 last Thursday. The House passed it before the Congressional Budget Office had a chance to score the bill, meaning that legislators voted before they had a full estimate of the AHCA’s effects. Some members admitted that they hadn’t read the whole bill before voting for its passage. Among them was Rep.
