Pain & Profit: Big Medicaid Reforms Snuck Out of the Texas House, But Will Cost-cutting Senators Get on Board?

AUSTIN — Sweeping overhauls to Texas' broken Medicaid system — ideas from the House that languished as less-ambitious fixes sailed out of the Senate — have a prayer of becoming law. It all comes down to money and whether a few key players in each chamber can strike a deal in the coming days. Late Friday, Rep. Sarah Davis, R-Houston, managed to tack proposals onto a Senate bill that offer broad protections for patients who are denied care, while cracking down on companies that have used the state's arduous medical appeals system to avoid paying for health services.   Continue reading...