Legal Commentary

Texas Plan For Reducing Health Care Costs: Don't Offer It

By Big Tent Democrat

Some [Texas] Republican lawmakers — still reveling in Tuesday’s statewide election sweep — are proposing an unprecedented solution to the state’s estimated $25 billion budget shortfall: dropping out of the federal Medicaid program.

It would certainly "save" money for Texas (I suppose the "folks dying" thing may have a cost.) But it would save the federal government even more:

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative research organization, estimates Texas could save $60 billion from 2013 to 2019 by opting out of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. [. . .] State Representative John M. Zerwas, Republican of Simonton, an anesthesiologist who wrote the bill authorizing the health commission’s Medicaid study, said [. . .] “Because of the substantial amount of matching money that comes from the federal government,” Mr. Zerwas said, “there’s an economic impact that comes from that. If we start to look at what that impact is, we have to consider whether it’s feasible to not participate.” State Senator Jane Nelson, Republican of Flower Mound, who heads the Senate Public Health Committee, said dropping out of Medicaid was worth considering — but only if it made fiscal sense without jeopardizing care. Currently, the Texas program costs $40 billion for a period of two years, with the federal government paying 60 percent of the bill.

(Emphasis supplied.) Sooo, Texas can save $60 billion and the federal government could save $90 billion. What's not to like? Except of course, all the people dying. But other than that, sounds great.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on November 07, 2010 (boomark / email).