Contents tagged with CHIP

  • Family doctors tell Senate Committee to expand access to women's health services, raise Medicaid payment rates

    Tags: Emily Briggs, Medicaid, Medicare, Antonio Falcon, Thomas Mueller, CHIP, Healthy Texas Women, the Family Planning Program

    Saturday, February 9, 2019 5:36:00 PM
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    By Jonathan Nelson

    The Texas Legislature approached full stride this week as some of its most powerful committees began hearing testimony from state agencies and the public. The Senate Finance Committee took up Article II of the state budget, which contains funding for all agencies and programs that fall under Texas Health and Human Services. That includes Medicaid, CHIP, Healthy Texas Women, the Family Planning Program, services for the aging and those with disabilities, and much more. At roughly $80 billion for the biennium, Article II accounts for more than a third of total state expenditures.

    Antonio Falcon, MD, of Rio Grande City, was the first TAFP member to address the committee on Wednesday morning, February 6, advocating for one of organized medicine’s top legislative priorities, the allocation of funding to ensure competitive and appropriate Medicaid payments. Those payment rates have not been increased in a meaningful or enduring manner in nearly two decades. Yet physician practice costs have increased by about 3 percent each year.

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  • Advocating for women's health in the 86th Texas Legislature

    Tags: Texas Women’s Healthcare Coalition, CHIP, children's medicaid, HTW, TWHC, Texas legislative session

    Friday, November 16, 2018 4:03:00 PM
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    By Evelyn Delgado
    Texas Women’s Healthcare Coalition Chair and Healthy Futures of Texas President/Executive Director

    The texas women’s healthcare coalition is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of women, babies, and families by ensuring access to preventive care — including contraception — for all Texas women. Our membership includes health care organizations, provider organizations, advocacy organizations, and faith organizations from across the state. We strive toward our mission by working with state legislators on women’s health policy issues, educating the public on the landscape of women’s health in Texas, and through building relationships with state agency leaders to improve the programs serving Texas women.

    Since its formation, TWHC has advocated for priority issues during each Texas legislative session with the goal of improving access to women’s health services. The No. 1 priority is always to protect funding for the state’s women’s health programs and advocate for more funding to meet the statewide need for family planning and preventive health services.

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