Reference no: EM131149560

Federal healthcare reform expands Medicaid to cover childless adults earning at least 133 percent of the federal poverty level ($30,657 a year for a family of four in 2012; $14,856 for a single person), making 1.2 million Texans who are currently without health insurance eligible for Medicaid services. Although Texas will have to administer the program, the federal government will pick up the entire cost of the new enrollees for the first three years, injecting $3.7 billion healthcare dollars annually into the Texas economy. Subsequently, the state share will gradually rise until 2020 when Texas will be required to cover 10 percent of the annual cost, an estimated $370 million, which is less than 1 percent of the state budget. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the total cost of healthcare reform to Texas government between 2010 and 2019 will be $1.4 billion. In June 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states have a constitutional right to choose to participate or not participate in the Medicaid expansion. In other words, Texas officials can either choose to accept the money and the healthcare coverage or reject it in order to save state funds. So far, the governor and the Texas legislature have turned down the money, but Texas can change its mind at a later date if it wishes to do so. Do you agree with the governor and the legislature’s decision? Should Texas change its mind or continue to reject Medicaid expansion?