TMA Legislative News Hotline
Thursday, Jan. 22, 2009
Budget Woes
Constitutionally, the only task state legislators must accomplish during the 2009 legislative session is to pass the state's budget bill. No issue in the state capitol is more politically charged and contentious than balancing the budget - especially with the state's growing and conflicting needs and short cash.
On Tuesday, both the House and Senate filed separate budget bills - House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 1, respectively, for the upcoming biennium. The Senate's bill spends $171.5 billion over two years, while the House uses $170.8 billion. Neither version would tap into the state's rainy day fund.
However, when Comptroller Susan Combs unveiled state revenue projections for the biennium, a dark cloud covered both budget bills. She projected a 10.5-percent drop in state revenue creating a budget deficit. The Legislative Budget Board estimated the shortfall to be around $2.5 billion.
Neither HB 1 nor SB 1 took into account potential new funds from the federal economic stimulus package.
What Does Washington Have in Store for Us?
This week, Congress will begin considering an $825 billion stimulus package, the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act." The legislation will contain $275 billion in tax relief and $550 billion in direct spending in an effort to stimulate economic activity. A number of provisions will affect health care. To help you stay up to date, we've compiled a list of national health care reform resources on the TMA Web site.
TMA Legislative Priority: Establish Appropriate Payment System for Medicaid
Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are good buys for Texas, given their generous federal matching dollars. Both programs offer low-income working parents an affordable way to insure their children. Medicaid and CHIP payments to physicians still lag far behind other payment rates, even after the 2007 increases. Physicians want to participate in these programs but in many cases cannot afford to open their practices to Medicaid and CHIP patients. To ensure access to a medical home for these patients, legislators must continue to improve continuity of care and payments through Medicaid for adults' and children's services.
See all of TMA's legislative issue briefs in the Governmental Affairs section of the TMA Web site.
Physician of the Day
The physician of the day at the capitol is Michael Centeno, MD, FAAFP, of San Antonio. Dr. Centeno graduated from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in Lubbock in 1988. He is a member of TMA and Bexar County Medical Society.
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Learn more about TMA’s priority issues for the 81st Texas Legislature.
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