Rep. Garnet Coleman calls Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s Medicaid proposal a nonstarter

AUSTIN – Today Rep. Garnet Coleman (D-147) released the following statement in response to Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and Sen. Charles Schwertner’s Medicaid proposal:

“A good way to judge the seriousness of a proposal is to look at its content — and health savings accounts for children are among the many ridiculous ideas suggested in this one. This is a nonstarter and everyone knows it. 

We should be following the example of other Republican states who are finding fiscally responsible solutions to closing the coverage gap rather than increasing it. Texas is turning down billions in federal funds, just sitting there for us to take advantage of. We have the highest rate of uninsured in the nation and Lt. Governor Patrick wants to create further roadblocks to care for the existing coverage population of children and expectant mothers and further exclude poor adults from the healthcare they need.

By accepting coverage expansion we can accomplish the best of both worlds: cover the uninsured and inject money into the state’s economy. The federal government has already demonstrated its desire to come to the negotiating table and find viable solutions for Texans. If this interest is truly rooted in concern and not political grandstanding, we should meet them there immediately.”