Texas Supreme Court Halts Children's Therapy Cuts
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday delivered a temporary, last-minute victory to families of children with disabilities who want to stop sweeping budget cuts to a state-funded children’s therapy program.
State lawmakers last year approved $350 million in budget cuts for Medicaid programs that provide physical, speech and occupational therapy to disabled children. Blocked once before by a district court order, the cuts were scheduled to take effect July 15 after an appellate court ruled in April that Texas could move forward with them.
The Supreme Court’s order will delay those cuts, which have been tied up in court for nearly a year, once again.
The disabled children’s families, joined by therapy providers who are paid by Medicaid, the federal-state insurance program for the poor and disabled, sued the state over the pay cut, saying it would force medically necessary businesses to close and leave fragile children without access to health care.
Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2016/07/08/texas-supreme-court-orders-state-pause-medicaid-cu/
