Texas holds off on therapy cuts in Medicaid program
Source: Austin American-Statesman
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas health officials are postponing a $350 million cut in Medicaid payments to therapists after being pushed to the brink of legal action in state court.
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission told a judge Wednesday that the agency now plans to start over and consider new rates. The about-face comes less than a week before the cuts were scheduled to take effect and after increasing bipartisan pressure.
Opponents say the cuts would have drastically reduced access to speech, physical and occupational therapists for more than 240,000 poor Texas residents. The cuts would have also targeted a program that provides speech therapy to children born prematurely.
The Republican-controlled Legislature ordered the rate reductions this year amid lawmaker concerns of excess spending.
Read more: http://www.statesman.com/ap/ap/texas/texas-holds-off-on-therapy-cuts-in-medicaid-progra/nnRPf/
End of article. Cross-posted in the Texas Group.
= new reply since forum marked as read
With Texas being so large it is sometimes difficult to know what is occurring throughout the state so I make an effort to try and check publications throughout the state in both mainstream and alternative media. I also belong to several Texas Democratic Facebook groups so I will occasionally find stories of interest there.
I was a state employee so I've been involved in a lot of the issues in Texas and have a lot of varied interests. My friends find that I can discuss virtually any topic when I'm having a pint in a biergarten. 
I'm hoping that posting frequently in the Texas group it will attract Democrats to keep coming back and be informed about the issues when they vote. 
