Texas Budget Writers Hear Concerns Over Medicaid Therapy Cuts
Texas lawmakers on Thursday revisited the fate of a $150 million cut in state funding to Medicaid payments for disabled children’s therapy made in 2015 — though the outcome of that cut remains uncertain as a legal battle over its legitimacy remains before the Texas Supreme Court.
Republican lawmakers on the Senate Finance Committee, led by chair Sen. Jane Nelson, a Flower Mound Republican, reiterated their belief at Thursday’s hearing that the state needs to cut back on health care spending. But those lawmakers reassured concerned parents they wouldn’t cut medically necessary services.
Parents said they feared their children would suffer developmental setbacks without speech, physical and occupational therapies, and asked lawmakers to reverse the cuts. Therapy providers have threatened to close their businesses as a result of a 20 to 25 percent cut to their Medicaid revenue that the cuts are likely to pose, which they say could cause children to be denied services.
The debate echoed previous comments that have been made in court cases, at public hearings and in the news media as a legal dispute over the cuts has dragged on for more than a year. The Texas Supreme Court in July ruled the Texas Health and Human Services Commission could not slash its payments to therapy providers for their services until the court considers the legal dispute.
Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2016/09/15/texas-budget-writers-hear-concerns-over-medicaid-t/
