House allows children with disabilities to join the Medicaid program
The Texas House approved a bill on Thursday allowing children with disabilities to join the Medicaid program even if their parents earn too much to qualify for the program in its current form. Families of four could earn up to $66,150 and still qualify for the new program.
The bill, authored by state Rep. Eddie Lucio III, D-San Benito, will help an estimated 6,000 families who now struggle to pay for their children's medical treatment. Among them are members of Down by the Border, a Brownsville organization composed of parents with special needs children.
Dolores Zarate, the group's president, said the bill's passage was a huge step forward. She helped organize a campaign to send 1,500 letters to state representatives informing them of the bill's importance - an effort that paid off when the bill passed unanimously in the House.
"If you don't have a child with a disability, you have no idea how expensive it can be," she said. "So many families go into debt trying to provide for their children."
The bill was initially introduced in 2007, but narrowly failed in a divisive - and partisan - vote. This time around, Lucio III called the bill one his top priorities during the current legislative session.
"With a lot of work, children with these disabilities can potentially integrate into our public schools and communities," Lucio said. "If you invest now in the health of these children, future health care costs will go down dramatically."
Even if children with cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, or severe autism are covered by private insurance plans, Lucio said, those plans are often insufficient. "Private insurance only includes two months of recommended rehabilitation per year in some cases," he said.
The bill, which will cost an estimated $20 million for two years, was previously approved by the Senate, and now goes to the governor.
Lucio said that Governor Rick Perry has already expressed his intention to sign the bill.
"We're just overcome with joy," Zarate said. "We've been working so hard for three years...this is what these families really need."
ksieff@brownsvilleherald.com
