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May 25, 2011 at 08:00 PM
In Texas, more than in many states, one of the hottest — and most controversial — topics on the House’s docket this session has been the question of how to make Medicaid work without crippling state financial resources.
Last Thursday, the Texas House passed a bill designed to accomplish this goal, including several amendments that covered key issues like Medicaid fraud, abortion and expanding managed care services. Predictably, there were varied responses to these amendments on blue and red sides of the House, but all three passed with tentative approval.
Amendment #1: Minimizing Medicaid fraud
Least controversial among these was the issue of Medicaid fraud. An amendment to deepen the punishment for pharmacy benefit managers who commit fraud passed almost unanimously. Managers convicted of this crime going forward will face a steep $500,000 fine and will be barred from rejoining the Medicaid program. Rep. John Zerwas, R-Simonton, objected that the amendment had “the potential to limit access to pharmacy services,” but the amendment still received just three votes against it.
Amendment #2: Cutting funding for abortion services
Despite some pronounced initial objections, Rep. Jim Landtroop, R-Plainview, managed to pass his amendment to cut off funding to clinics and health care providers that perform abortion-related services, excluding those that have done so in the face of a medical emergency. The emergency clause was added to protect providers that have given sonograms, prescribed the morning-after pill or helped a woman after a botched abortion, all of which could otherwise have been found liable under new law.
Amendment #3: Expanding managed care coverage
