Waiting List for Texas Program for Youths with Special Needs Expected to Triple by 2003

The waiting list for Children with Special Health Care Needs, a Texas state program for youths under age 21 who have chronic illnesses, will reach nearly 2,300 by August 2003, more than triple the current list of 750, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports. The program, which provides health coverage and certain health services to about 2,500 children, began using a waiting list last October to respond to a projected $7.5 million shortfall in the program's two-year budget. The deficit was caused by higher-than-expected enrollment and more costly services, the AP/Chronicle reports. To clear the waiting list, the Texas Department of Health estimates that lawmakers would need to appropriate an additional $14 million to the program's budget by 2004 or $18.8 million by 2005. But in an interview with the San Antonio Express-News, state Sen. Jon Lindsay (R) said he doubts the program will receive the extra funding, adding, "There's going to be a few of us fighting for it, but I'm not optimistic" (AP/Houston Chronicle, 5/10).