Facing Deep Funding Cuts For Children With Disabilities, Texas Democrats Ask Feds To Step In
As Texas officials prepare to cut $350 million in state and federal funding from Medicaid, which covers pediatric therapy services, Democrats in the state look to the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to intervene. In other news, a look at those who fall into the "coverage gap" in Missouri.
The Texas Tribune:
Texas Democrats Ask Feds To Intervene On Therapy Cuts
Three weeks before Texas officials plan to slash funding for a program that pays for speech, physical and occupational therapy for children with disabilities, Democrats in the Texas House are asking the Obama administration to intervene. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services should take action to ensure that cuts made to Texas Medicaid “do not restrict access to medically necessary therapy services,” all 50 Democrats in the Texas House wrote in a letter to Andy Slavitt, acting administrator of the federal agency. (Walters, 6/23)
St. Louis Public Radio:
Checking In On A Few Of The Thousands Living In Missouri’s Medicaid Gap
Three years after Missouri’s legislature first shut down the option to expand Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act, an estimated 173,000 of adults who could have been covered by the law remain uninsured. Many, including Carter, turn to publicly funded health clinics like Affinia for care, where they can see a doctor for a small fee. It’s in these waiting rooms where the effects of Missouri’s “coverage gap” come to the forefront. (Bouscaren, 6/24)