The House has voted to restore some funding to a Texas Medicaid program providing therapy for disabled children, softening $350 million in cuts that sparked uproar last session.
Thursday's move came during debate on the state budget. The funding could still be removed since the final House budget will have to be reconciled with the Senate's budget.
The original cuts reduced state reimbursement rates for therapy providers, leaving some children without speech and other therapies.
Lawmakers got the extra funding by removing $43 million from the Texas Enterprise Fund, which is overseen by the governor and lures job-creating firms to Texas.
Seeking to roll back last session's cuts occurred as Texas' health department mulls new cuts. These would reduce Medicaid reimbursements to therapy providers for Texans with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
