Tag Archives: health care

Just call it “DewhurstCare”

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not sure what to make of this yet. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Grapevine, introduced two bills Wednesday they believe could save the state a significant amount of money and produce “healthy patient outcomes.” The duo … Continue reading →

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The Affordable Care Act will help millions of Texans

Posted on January 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

So says the Texas Department of Insurance. Even as Texas leaders rail against the national health care law and call for its repeal, the state Department of Insurance has issued a report that says the law will make it easier … Continue reading →

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Arizona Congresswoman shot

Posted on January 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Horrible. Six people were killed and 12 others wounded — including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords — in a shooting outside a Tucson, Arizona, grocery store where the congresswoman was holding a constituent meeting, police said. The suspect in the shooting … Continue reading →

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You can cut services, but you can’t reduce the demand for them

Posted on December 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Another look at what we’ll be facing next year. With state leaders saying the November election sent a no-new-taxes, lean-government message, no program is expected to escape the knife – including education and health and human services, which take up … Continue reading →

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New flash: Dropping Medicaid would be bad

Posted on December 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t take my word for it, take the Texas Department of Health and Human Services’ word for it. Opting out of federal Medicaid, something Republican leaders have been considering as a method to wipe out Texas’ estimated $25 billion budget … Continue reading →

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Hobby and Ellis on Medicaid

Posted on December 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

State Sen. Rodney Ellis and former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby lay out the reasons why quitting Medicaid would be a disaster for the state. Texas already has the unfortunate distinction of having the highest uninsured population in the country. It … Continue reading →

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Because that’s who he is

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Before Thanksgiving, Ezra Klein asked “Why does Gov. Rick Perry want more uninsured Texans?” Consider the case of Texas, which with 25 percent uninsured, leads the nation in not providing for its residents. If the state pulls out of Medicaid, … Continue reading →

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More pushback from the medical community on Medicaid

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Doctors and medical associations had a big effect on public opinion during the fight over the Affordable Care Act. We’ll see whether that is true during the fight over Medicaid. “Unless our state leaders can come up with a financing … Continue reading →

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Medicaid: Ideologues versus experts

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The fascinating thing in this story about the Republican plan to kill Medicaid is just how half-baked the idea is. GOP Gov. Rick Perry, fresh off a big re-election win and touting his new book on states’ rights, is among … Continue reading →

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More on Medicaid

Posted on November 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Mike Tomasky on the question of Texas ditching Medicaid: The states’ share of Medicaid costs has been an immense burden for two decades, there’s no denying it. I remember Mario Cuomo complaining about it when he was governor, when I … Continue reading →

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Who needs Medicaid?

Posted on November 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an early peek at what we have to look forward to next year. Some 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 … Continue reading →

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Sometimes the headline tells you all you need to know

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Rep. Joe Barton celebrates Waxahachie clinic, which is expanding with stimulus he opposed. Actually, this one does have a bit more to it than that: “There were two pieces of legislation that helped bring this about,” Joseph Gallegos, senior vice … Continue reading →

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Interview with State Rep. Garnet Coleman

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. Garnet Coleman of HD147 is one of my favorite elected officials anywhere. A 20-year veteran of the House and a member of the House leadership team, he’s a strong progressive advocate and a policy wonk who’s always on … Continue reading →

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You think there might be a connection there?

Posted on July 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In the middle of this Trib story about the Driver Responsibility Program and the Lege’s efforts to reform it comes a reminder about the relationship between federal and state legislation. Denise Rose, senior director of government relations at the Texas … Continue reading →

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In case you need a reminder to vote this November

Posted on July 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

What we have to look forward to in Austin next year if nothing changes. Legislators next year will face severe budget problems, divisive redistricting, school funding troubles and reviews of major state agencies, including the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality … Continue reading →

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Start stocking up on those forever stamps

Posted on July 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

They’re about to be a bargain. Fighting to survive a deepening financial crisis, the Postal Service said Tuesday it wants to increase the price of first-class stamps by 2 cents — to 46 cents — starting in January. Other postage … Continue reading →

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One more thing about polling

Posted on June 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

When I wrote about the Rasmussen problem, I said that they were the only outfit polling on a lot of “issue” questions. That’s not totally true, though nobody does nearly as much of that as Rasmussen does. The UT/Trib poll … Continue reading →

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The Rasmussen problem

Posted on June 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Jonathan Chait discusses the “Rasmussen problem”, which basically boils down to the fact that Rasmussen’s polls have become rather extreme outliers, and they all seem to serve a narrative about the country taking a sharp pro-conservative, anti-Obama turn. As Nate … Continue reading →

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Kaiser study on health care costs

Posted on May 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, state officials from HHSC Commissioner Tom Suehs up through Governor Perry have been claiming that the Affordable Care Act will cost the state of Texas a lot more than the CBO estimates. There’s quite a bit of … Continue reading →

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Prison health care

Posted on May 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Just another dimension to the complex budget picture. An early casualty of impending state budget cuts could be the health care contract that serves most of Texas’ 154,000 prison convicts. Top officials at the University of Texas System, whose Galveston … Continue reading →

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Who can get health care in Williamson County

Posted on May 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This is a bad idea. Williamson County commissioners have decided to stop paying health care costs for indigent adults and children who don’t have valid Social Security cards. County Judge Dan A. Gattis said last week that he wanted to … Continue reading →

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Texas rejects high-risk insurance pools

Posted on May 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No big surprise. Gov. Rick Perry told federal officials Friday that Texas would not participate in health insurance pools for high risk individuals that are being set up under the new national health care law. Perry, citing some of the … Continue reading →

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No anti-health care special session

Posted on April 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Thank God for small favors. Gov. Rick Perry tamped out rumors today that he would call a special legislative session to consider whether Texas should seek to exempt itself from federal health care law. Harris County Republican Chairman Jared Woodfill … Continue reading →

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Groups that support Republicans oppose health care reform

Posted on April 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I know, I know, quelle surprise. The uncertainty over the Congressional healthcare bill has incited fear among some small business associations in Texas. They gathered with U.S. Chamber of Commerce representatives on Tuesday to say they’re worried about ripple effects … Continue reading →

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More arguing over health care costs

Posted on April 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

There are many things to say about this. The debate over how much federal health care reform will cost Texas put the state’s health and human services chief on the defensive on Wednesday, as he presented a budget estimate to … Continue reading →

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The question to ask

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From State Rep. Mike Villarreal’s blog, explaining the benefit of the Affordable Care Act for Texans: Beyond this next year, many of the six million uninsured Texans will have health insurance, improving their health and financial stability, and saving all … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Waterloo

Posted on March 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Like yesterday’s video, this one’s been making its way around the intertubes lately. Here’s the context, in case you’re wondering. I posted this mostly as an excuse to note that thanks to my father-in-law’s affection for the movie “Mamma Mia!”, … Continue reading →

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Special Friday video break: Hell, no, you can’t!

Posted on March 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Finally got a chance to see this: As they say in sports: Scoreboard, dude.

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Abbott’s health care lawsuit

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has a copy of the lawsuit that AG Greg Abbott and a dozen of his buddies have filed against the health care reform bill that was signed into law today. You may be wondering, as I have been, … Continue reading →

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Time for KBH to kick the can down the road again

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Senate is on the verge of passing the fixes to the health care reform bill that the House ratified on Sunday, but that’s not important right now. What really matters is that this means Senator Hutchison has a deadline … Continue reading →

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The freakout

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

A month ago, Jonathan Chait saw the gathering momentum for getting health care reform passed, and observed “The conservative freakout is going to be something to behold.” And indeed so far it has been. Katherine Haenschen and Bob Moser did … Continue reading →

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Don’t be like Arizona

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t have a whole lot of hope for the 2011 legislative session and the budget that it will produce. But at least we won’t do anything quite this stupid. Arizona on Thursday became the first state to eliminate its … Continue reading →

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Health care reform passes

Posted on March 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Finally. By a razor thin margin of 219-212, the House of Representatives tonight passed far-reaching legislation that will lead to near-universal health care coverage in the United States — a goal that has eluded Presidents and Congresses for a century. … Continue reading →

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The effect of health care reform on Texas

Posted on March 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an email from the Legislative Study Group, via State Rep. Garnet Coleman, who has been a constant source of health care reform updates: LSG Policy Update: CBO Estimates of Impact of Healthcare Reform to Texas With the United States … Continue reading →

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