Texas Senate Finance Committee Approves Provision To Shift Funds To Pay Medicaid Lawsuit

April 11, 2007 – 4:22 pm | posted in Medical Malpractice

The Texas Senate Finance Committee on Monday approved a budget provision that would shift money from Medicaid programs to pay for a 14-year-old class-action lawsuit that alleged the state did not provide adequate health services to children enrolled in Medicaid, the Houston Chronicle reports. The provision is a way “to protect the state fiscally” from the financial cost of the lawsuit, which may not be determined until after lawmakers have approved the two-year state budget and adjourned, according to provision supporters, the Chronicle reports. Several Texas Medicaid programs offer benefits above what is federally mandated, and these could be affected by the shift in funds, according to committee Vice Chair Judith Zaffirini (D). If passed in the House, the state Health and Human Services Commission would determine which programs would lose funding to pay for the settlement, subject to approval by the governor and Legislative Budget Board. The House’s proposed budget does not include a similar provision. Both versions include funding to increase physician reimbursement rates, which is expected to address some of the concerns of the court case by encouraging physicians to accept greater numbers of Medicaid beneficiaries. U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice scheduled a hearing on the case to begin Monday, with a potential settlement agreement reached this week, according to lawmakers (Fikac, Houston Chronicle, 4/3).

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