What is the alternative to Medicaid expansion?

01/07/2015

In an informative article posted today by D Healthcare Daily, W. Stephen Love, president/CEO of the DFW Hospital Council, offered his insight on a “Texas solution” to Medicaid expansion. Dr. Forney Fleming of the University of Texas at Dallas, Bill Hammond of the Texas Association of Business and Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas also offered their opinions. The feature was penned … Read More

Will the Real Medicaid Program Please Stand Up

04/29/2013

When U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law Medicare 45 years ago, Title XIX was included in the legislation. Title XIX was known as Medicaid and introduced as a welfare program for states to administer to citizens in need. In 1996, U.S. President Bill Clinton separated Medicaid from the welfare status and today, many working Americans qualify for Medicaid … Read More

What About Hospital Patient Care Costs?

04/09/2013

About five years ago, a “think tank” and university published total Medicare costs per beneficiary in different regions of the country. They stated Texas had some of the highest health care costs in the nation. I contacted the people who conducted the study, reviewed their raw data and extracted only acute care hospital expenses. My analysis revealed acute care hospital … Read More

Love supports Medicaid expansion in DMN story

02/13/2013

In response to the Dallas County commissioners’ endorsement of an expanded Medicaid program, Steve Love, the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council’s president/CEO, was quoted in The Dallas Morning News article “Commissioners OK expanding Medicaid” in the Wednesday, Feb. 13 edition. In a 4-0 vote on Tuesday, Feb. 12, Dallas County commissioners voiced their support of expanded Medicaid that would cover uninsured … Read More

Medicaid Expansion

02/07/2013

Texas leads the nation with the highest uninsured rate of approximately 27 percent. Roughly six million Texans have no health insurance, including one million children. Forty percent of the state’s pregnant women do not receive appropriate pre-natal care. As Texas residents, these numbers are troubling and ultimately, the key to solve these problems is working together in a collaborative manner. … Read More

Peeling Back the Onion

01/22/2013

U.S. healthcare spending grew 3.9 percent in 2011, reaching $2.7 trillion and representing three consecutive years of slow growth. Healthcare spending as a percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) remained stable at 17.9. If we peel back the onion to look at how U.S. healthcare dollars are spent, we might be surprised. Hospital patient care represents only 31 percent of … Read More

Is the fiscal cliff really over?

01/09/2013

We need to look at health care impact on hospitals over the past two years and not just focus on the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 recently passed by the Senate and House. Hospitals in North Texas and across the nation realized the need to reform health care delivery. They supported the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act … Read More

The 83rd Texas Legislative Session

11/16/2012

The 83rd Texas Legislative Session for Texas convenes at noon on January 8, 2013. We thank our legislators for their public service to the State of Texas and hope for a constructive, collaborative bipartisan session regarding our state issues. Many priorities relating to the budget, public education, transportation, labor and workforce and the state’s environment will be discussed and reviewed. … Read More

Readmissions – A Complex Issue

10/01/2012

In October each year we enjoy the State Fair of Texas, fall festivals, carving pumpkins and Texas football at all levels. This year a new event begins Oct. 1, 2012 resulting from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). A readmissions provision imposes financial penalties on hospitals for “excess” readmissions when compared to “expected” levels of readmission. Generally, hospitals … Read More

Medicaid Expansion – The Immediate Question

07/03/2012

We all know the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). One decision for the state of Texas regards expanding the current Medicaid program. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states have the option to expand their Medicaid program, but there is no enforceable requirement. Texas leads the nation … Read More