Sources report that doctors, concerned about an onslaught of new patients, coupled with low reimbursement rates, are opting out of Medicare and Medicaid programs. The new health care reform law will introduce millions more patients into Medicaid., and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst expressed concerns about the $27 billion in extra costs the state will face under the new law:
“That’s an astounding number for us. We’re on the hook for all those folks we’ve been trying to get to sign up for Medicaid…Arguably, we have to crowd out public education or higher education to pay for this, or raise taxes…Those are unsustainable numbers. Totally unsustainable.” (Source)
Some disagree with the figure Dewhurst cited. An excerpt:
“The estimate Dewhurst cited doesn’t take into account that state and local governments will spend less on care for uninsured patients. An aide to Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston, who introduced Dewhurst at breakfast, cited Congressional Budget Office projections this afternoon that show Texas would face only $1.4 billion in extra costs this decade due to the expansion of health care.
“[Dewhurst] said he is most concerned about federal health care policy, along with energy proposals that include taxes on carbon emissions to combat climate change. That legislation has stalled, but critics say it would raise energy prices and hurt key sectors of the Texas economy.
‘I have never seen so many things going on in Washington that directly affect us, as I have in the last year and a half,’ Dewhurst said.”
