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The following link will take you to the Tarrant County Republican Party website listing elected officials representing Tarrant County, the State of Texas and the Nation.
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Special to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram March 29, 2010 By State Senator JANE NELSON
By pressing ahead with its massive, budget-busting healthcare reform plan, the federal government is ignoring one of the guiding principles of our healthcare system: First, do no harm. For the medical professionals on the front lines of our healthcare system, these words have profound meaning. Simply put, if a procedure or treatment will cause more harm than good, that action should not be undertaken. The federal government's prescription for our healthcare system violates that rule. It creates more problems than it solves: ballooning our deficit, overwhelming our healthcare system and burdening employers at a time when they are struggling just to survive. It's no wonder that a CBS poll taken just before the March 21 U.S. House vote on the healthcare bill found that 62 percent of Americans wanted Republicans in Congress to continue challenging the bill. In Texas , I am deeply concerned about the devastating impact that the federal reforms will have on our state budget. The Health and Human Services Commission estimates that it will cost up to $24 billion over 10 years. Considering that our projected budget shortfall for the upcoming legislative session is somewhere between $9 billion and $16 billion, it is clear that our health and human service s budget, which accounts for a third of total spending already, will continue to consume precious resources that would otherwise be available for our schools, highways and other important service s. We all share the goal of connecting more citizens to healthcare, but Texans need to understand that an insurance mandate doesn't truly achieve access. If there are not enough nurses, physicians, emergency responders and other healthcare professionals to treat the influx of new patients, access to care will diminish for all of us. Already, Texas is facing critical shortages of nurses to treat patients in our hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and home healthcare settings. About half of our counties are federally designated as having shortages of primary medical care. Also, the system we use to determine whether citizens are eligible for state health and human service s is already stretched to the limit. Texas has been working tirelessly to clear a backlog of applications for food stamps, which have increased substantially in the wake of the Gulf Coast hurricane devastation and the national economic downturn. Forcing 2 million more Texans onto Medicaid rolls under this federal plan will require a significant investment in infrastructure, staff and other resources. Instead, we should focus on the root problems in our health system. In Texas , we have been working to promote personal responsibility, understanding that healthier lifestyles lead to longer, healthier lives and also reduce costs. We expanded the availability of insurance pools and are in the process of rolling out a new partnership to assist small businesses with the cost of health insurance for their employees. We have also been working to make better use of the tax dollars we spend on Medicaid, the government-sponsored health program for the poor. Most Texans would be surprised to learn that Medicaid offers a wider array of service s than most private health plans and rewards doctors who deliver a higher number of service s rather than those who achieve the best outcomes for their patents. We laid the groundwork to address those issues during last year's legislative session. I am ready to work with my colleagues to better understand this bill and minimize any negative impact it will have in Texas . Along with the Senate Committee on State Affairs, we will hold a joint hearing Wednesday in Austin to identify issues and consider our options in preparation for the next legislative session. Clearly, deep philosophical differences about the appropriate role of government will remain in the backdrop of our discussion. These differences are important, but they should not prevent us from having a thoughtful, civil discussion on the best way to move forward. Read more at: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/03/29/2075343/federal-healthcare-reform-does.html#ixzz0jzaLKCUs |
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Congresswoman Kay Granger Washington Update
Greetings to my friends at the Fort Worth Republican Women. I thank you for all you are doing for our party and our cause. |
