Expanding medicaid for the state of Texas would only cost $2.5 billion dollars annually and could be offset by closing loopholes and reinstating previous tax cuts that cost the state budget roughly $5 billion annually.

Problem:

• 5 million Texans—nearly 1 of 5 residents—lacked health insurance in 2014

• Portable Health Savings Accounts are not a long term solution to creating a state or national universal healthcare system

• In some states childless adults cannot obtain Medicaid coverage

• The 1115 medicaid waiver is not a long term solution to healthcare and expires December 2017

• Not expanding medicaid denies healthcare to roughly 20,000 veterans living in Texas

• After Kentucky imposed work requirements for medicaid recipients the administrative costs for the healthcare program increased 40%

• Among all people with at least one medical bill in collections in 2016, 11% were 27-years-old — the largest share observed in this new study. That’s one year after children lose eligibility for a parent’s health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act

• Pregnant women on medicaid lose their health insurance 2 months after giving birth

Solutions:

• Close corporate loopholes in the commercial real estate appraisal system

• Finance a portion of the medicaid expansion with a state public bank

• Close corporate loopholes in the state sales tax

• Pay for medicaid expansion with a 0.15% increase in the sales tax while exempting groceries similar to Utah

• Pay for a portion of medicaid expansion with a head tax on cruise ships visiting Texas similar to Alaska

• Finance the state portion of the medicaid expansion with tax reform’s such as but not limited to: gas tax, revenue-neutral carbon tax, corporate income tax

• Allow U.S. based insurers and hmo’s to offer Texas-Mexico cross border health plans

• Strengthen and reform the state rainy day fund

• Reallocate some of the $800 million wasted on border security

• Pre trial reform could save the state of Texas roughly $100 to $200 million annually

• Allow individuals and companies in Texas to buy into medicaid (supported by George H Bush, being explored by New Mexico)

 

Huffington Post – This Is What Happens When Your State Government Blocks The Medicaid Expansion

Huffington Post – Another GOP Governor Calls For Obamacare Medicaid Expansion

Huffington Post – Perry-Appointed Board Backs Medicaid Expansion

Huffington Post – Texas And Florida Expand Medicaid — For Kids

PEW – State Health Care Spending on Medicaid

CPPP – Sizing Up the 2014 – 2015 Texas Budget: Medicaid and CHIP

CBPP – Medicaid Expansion’s New Cost Estimate Isn’t Alarming

Georgetown University Health Policy Institute – About CHIP

New York Times – Medicaid Pays Less Than Medicare for Many Prescription Drugs, U.S. Report Finds

New York Times – Why Not Medicaid For All?

New York Times – California Moves to Allow Undocumented Immigrants to Buy Insurance

NIH – What if the Federal Government Negotiated Pharmaceutical Prices for Seniors? An Estimate of National Savings

Lexington Herald – Single-payer health care may emerge as best option

Mother Jones – Medicaid Expansion Is a Stealth Success, and That’s Just Fine

Salt Lake Tribune – Medicaid expansion — for poorest of the poor — may have traction on Capitol Hill

Houston Chronicle – Commissioner Radack says he will keep up drum beat for Medicaid funds

Kaiser Foundation – Will Louisiana’s Medicaid Expansion Be A Harbinger For Georgia?

Kaiser Foundation – The Coverage Gap: Uninsured Poor Adults in States that Do Not Expand Medicaid – An Update

Kaiser Foundation – Lack Of Medicaid Expansion Hurts Rural Hospitals More Than Urban Facilities

Kaiser Foundation – Medicaid Expansion, Health Coverage, and Spending: An Update for the 21 States That Have Not Expanded Eligibility

Kaiser Foundation – New Estimates of Eligibility for ACA Coverage among the Uninsured

Kaiser Foundation – Fast Track to Coverage: Facilitating Enrollment of Eligible People into the Medicaid Expansion

Kaiser Foundation – Medicaid Expansion in New Hampshire

Kaiser Foundation – Five Key Questions And Answers About Section 1115 Medicaid Waivers

Kaiser Health Foundation – Kansas Hospitals Shift From Neutral To Support Candidates Favoring Medicaid Expansion

NPR – Louisiana Medicaid Expansion Brings Insurance To Many New Orleans Musicians

NPR – Texas Loses Billions To Treat The Poor By Not Expanding Medicaid, Advocates Say

NPR – New Hampshire Medicaid Expansion Overwhelmingly Passes Republican-Backed House

Texas Tribune – Texas, Feds Agree to Renew Short-Term Medicaid Funds

Texas Tribune – Key Texas Lawmakers Show Little Appetite for Medicaid Expansion

Texas Tribune – Texas Supreme Court Allows Medicaid Cuts to Children’s Therapy to Proceed

Albany Herald – EDITORIAL: Georgia should revisit Medicaid expansion

Las Cruces Sun – What’s really behind New Mexico’s budget woes

PBS – Medicaid expansion under Obamacare has improved financial health of low-income Americans

Commonwealth Fund – Childless Adults Face Hurdles Qualifying for Medicaid, Survey Shows

Commonwealth Fund – Medicaid Expansion in Texas: What’s at Stake?

UCLA Center for Health Policy Research – Public Funds Account for Over 70 Percent of Health Care Spending In California

Atlanta Business Chronicle – Georgia Chamber task force suggests three alternatives for expanding Medicaid

Democracy Journal – The Case Against Medicaid Expansion Gets Even Weaker

Think Progress – Oklahoma GOP Does an About-Face on Medicaid Expansion

Study: Georgia’s refusal to expand Medicaid will leave $33.7 billion in federal cash on the table

Medicaid expansion would be financial windfall for Georgia, report says

Dallas Morning News – Hospitals like Parkland could save 10 percent of unpaid care if Texas expands Medicaid, study finds

Dallas Morning News – Texas braces for budget cuts as economy, Medicaid, spending decisions collide

Trib Talk – Don’t blame oil prices for budget woes

The Tennessean – Study heralds Medicaid expansion benefits as rural hospital closes

Perryman Group – Towards a “Texas Solution”: Texas Should Provide Insurance Coverage for the Expanded Medicaid Population Under the Affordable Care Act

The Nation – ‘We Can’t Afford It’: The Big Lie About Medicaid Expansion

CBPP – Census Data Show States Not Expanding Medicaid Falling Further Behind

CBPP – How Health Reform’s Medicaid Expansion Will Impact State Budgets

Concord Monitor – GOP leaders call for continuation of Medicaid expansion

El Paso Times – Medicaid boost urged to add 1.2 million insured

Richmond Times -Hazel column: This year, Virginia, say yes to Medicaid expansion

Wyoming Public Radio – Governor Calls For Medicaid Expansion In His State Of The State Message

Wyoming Tribune Eagle – Simpson, Sullivan: “Old coots” should pass expansion

Governor Mead Asks Legislature to Reconsider Medicaid Expansion

USA Today – Health care giants promise another push for Medicaid expansion in 2017

Washington Times – Funding could make South Dakota Medicaid expansion easier

Valdosta Daily Times – State weighs Medicaid expansion

Louisiana gets innovative to catch up on Medicaid expansion: Editorial

Houston Free Press – Texas Will Accept a 15-Month Lifeline From the Feds, But Not Medicaid Expansion

Houston Free Press – Dan Patrick Threatens To Flush Federal Education Funding Down The Toilet

Slate – New York Medicaid May Soon Cover Donated Breast Milk for Preterm Babies

The Post and Courier – For Medicaid expansion in S.C., HHS secretary says it’s only a matter of time

The Bismarck Tribune – Burgum open to Medicaid expansion reauthorization

A Nobel Prize-winning physicist sold his medal for $765,000 to pay medical bills

The Reality of Bush I on Health Care and Its Lessons for Today