An impassionededitorial in The Texas Observerthis week asked the question, is there anyone less qualified to manage Medicaid than the Texas Legislature? The editorial challenged the Legislature’s view of Medicaid as a potent threat to Texas liberty. The author writes that Medicaid “is the difference between getting treatment for diabetes and losing a limb to amputation; between receiving physical therapy and using a wheelchair; between a healthy pregnancy and a catastrophic one.” Still, the Legislature has consistently sought to gut or abolish the program.
A recent budget bill cut therapy services for severely disabled children, many of whom need the treatment simply to continue living. After a backlash, the cuts have been partially rolled back, but the question posed by the Observer remains: Who is this rancor helping?