Texas Senate Committee Approves Bill To ‘Simplify’ Medicaid Enrollment; State Lawmakers Meet With President Bush, Sec. Thompson

A bill (SB 43) that would "streamline" the Medicaid application process was approved on April 5 by the Texas Senate's Human Services Committee, the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram reports. As part of a package of pending bills designed to improve health care for low income Texans, SB 43 would eliminate face-to-face interviews and would "simplify" the assets test when determining Medicaid eligibility. In addition, families with children under 5 years old would be exempted from requalifying for the program every six months. The Star-Telegram reports that the legislation is expected to cost $120 million during the 2002-03 budget cycle and would help enroll an addition 105,000 children in the program (Moritz, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, 4/5).

Lone Star Access
With health care issues "pinching" the state budget, Texas lawmakers are hoping to use their access to President Bush to "secure federal money" for a variety of health care needs. The Houston Chronicle reports that state House Speaker Pete Laney (D) and Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff (R) led a delegation of Texan lawmakers to meet with President Bush and HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson to push for federal funds to help with "rising health care costs and increasing welfare rolls." While White House aides said Bush's meeting with the Texan delegation was "merely a courtesy visit," the Chronicle reports that the lawmakers asked for an increase in the federal share of Medicaid funding, an extension of a grant for welfare programs that is set to expire in September, a change in prescription drug regulations and a "quicker response" to Medicaid waiver requests. Laney said, "It hasn't been that long since [Bush] left town. That's the nice thing, the unique thing about having someone [in Washington] who has been in our arena. You don't have to explain the problem in a lot of detail." Ratliff said, "We have a tight budget. We can do some things we'd like to if we can get a little [federal] relief. ... We need flexibility at the state level so we can address things like medical care in a way that fits Texas." While the delegation met with federal officials, the Chronicle reports that the state House approved an emergency spending bill that includes $585 million to cover "higher than expected" Medicaid costs (Henry, Houston Chronicle, 4/5).