The following is a statement from Tiffany Hogue, policy director of the Texas Organizing Project, in reaction to today’s press conference by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and state Sen. Charles Schwertner asking for changes to the state’s Medicaid program:
“Unfortunately, rather than looking for solutions to increase access to affordable coverage for all Texans, Lt. Gov. Patrick and Chairman Schwertner are asking for “flexibility” to drive even more Texans to be uninsured. This “flexibility” is only going to hurt our most vulnerable: children, pregnant women, seniors, and Texans with disabilities.
“Texas already takes a bare bones approach to the Medicaid program. With few exceptions, we do not provide Medicaid coverage to working age adults. In the same week that subsidies for nearly a million Texans in the ACA Marketplace are being debated at the Supreme Court and another million remain left in the coverage gap, our leadership should be talking about real and possible solutions, not more games and political rhetoric.”
