Not no but hell no on TX Medicaid expansion

Yeah, you too, Schwertner.

Leading Texas Republicans on Monday asked the Obama administration for greater flexibility to administer Medicaid — a move that has gotten little traction in the past — while reiterating that they would not participate in an expansion of the program under the Affordable Care Act.

“Any expansion of Medicaid in Texas is simply not worth discussing,” state Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, said at a press conference.

Let those nasty poor folks die.  Face down, in a ditch, by the side of the road for all he cares.

Lisa Falkenberg kicks him right where he deserves it.

It's one thing to turn a blind eye to nearly 6 million uninsured Texas adults and children, to ignore the highest uninsured rate in the nation, to leave 1 million low-income Texans languishing in a health insurance no-man's land where they can't even get coverage through the Affordable Care Act because Texas refuses to expand Medicaid eligibility.

It's another thing to laugh in their faces.

[...]

"This trajectory is clearly unsustainable," the letter says, and then accuses the Medicaid program of continuing to "crowd out" funding for other needs such as education, transportation and water. Last time I checked, it wasn't poor people or the federal government proposing billions in tax cuts over the adequate funding of education, transportation and water.

[...]

What's worse about this latest effort is that it follows a growing chorus - a bipartisan chorus - of local, business and medical leaders calling for the state to expand Medicaid eligibility requirements.

That group includes the Texas Association of Business, the Texas Hospital Association and even a board approved by Perry himself - the Texas Institute of Health Care Quality and Efficiency.

These groups aren't taking these positions because of their love for President Obama. They realize it makes good business sense for Texans, and especially our children, to have health care. They realize that the costs of caring for the uninsured are being passed on by insurers and hospitals to those of us who do have insurance. They realize it makes no sense for Texas to pass up $100 billion in federal funds that we could draw down over a decade if we invest in expanding Medicaid services. They realize other conservative states have found a way to expand Medicaid, along with measures to promote personal responsibility, such as premium sharing and co-pays.

As an update to my January post "Kansas-sippi Here We Come", it develops that even KS Gov. Sam Bareback Brokeback Brownback is reconsidering Medicaid expansion in the Jayhawk State because of the austerity trainwreck he's caused.

To be sure, the governor isn’t officially on board, at least not yet. But Brownback was willing to say yesterday, “I haven’t said we’ll take it. I haven’t said we wouldn’t.” In this case, “it” is Medicaid expansion through the ACA.

And as you’d probably guess, the Kansas Republican has never said anything close to this before.

Texas Leftist finishes the takedown.

As Falkenberg outlines, this letter is far from a request to the Obama Administration.  It’s a ransom note.  Anyone who is hopeful that the Texas legislature is looking to do the right thing by our state would be wrong.  Instead, this week makes clear that Republican lawmakers wish nothing more than to endanger not only our poorest citizens, but state hospitals, and our whole healthcare system.

These morons that got elected last November in the lowest electoral turnout since the Great Depression want to take us back to the 1930s as fast as they can.  The saddest part to me is that this is what it is going to take to get them voted out of office: full, complete, unadulterated disaster and ruin.

Like bad medicine, maybe we can get it washed down quick.  Before too many people die from their poor decisions, their bigotry, and their hate, that is.

Schleifer's 'Horseshoe'

If you're not on it, get on it.

-- The very latest and biggest: "Mayor, firefighter pension trustees reach agreement".

Mayor Annise Parker and Houston's firefighter pension trustees have reached a deal that would lower the city's payments for three years, a move that would mark an abrupt reversal for the mayor.

The announcement came late Thursday from the fire pension board, whose leaders for years have fought any mention of changes to benefits as Houston's enormous pension burden has continued to grow. The pension fund estimates the city would pay $77 million less over the next three years. 

As Teddy has speculated on Twitter, how will this affect the signature issues of people like Bill King?  Stephen Costello has already jumped up and called it "a bad, bad, deal", so you know he's not going after the city employees' union endorsement.

-- The latest: Marty McVey is in.

Private equity executive Marty McVey said Thursday he would reinvigorate Houston's international business ties if voters elected him mayor this fall.

McVey said at the formal launch of his campaign he would usher in a new era of international investment in Houston, which he pledged to make a "visionary city."

"We have to take Houston to the world. The world has always come to Houston," McVey said at Mr. Peeples, a restaurant in Midtown. "It is now time that we take our place on the international stage."

The White House in 2011 appointed McVey, who has donated to many Democratic political campaigns, to an advisory board for the United States Agency for International Development.

McVey said that economic development stimulated by international trade would bring in the dollars to allow the city to address its most pressing problems.

"We don't have the ability to fix the potholes and fix the pensions because the city doesn't have the revenue to do so," McVey said.

McVey said he would bolster the city's economic development office and recruit international businesses to Houston, adding that he drew policy inspiration from former Gov. Rick Perry.

Potholes and pensions.  I believe the man who would be King has already staked out that acreage.

Now previously I had said that McVey might be the most liberal guy in the race so far, with Melissa Noriega in his corner (Navid Zanjani has already quit, however).  He spoke on 97.9 The Box about the tragic events of Ferguson, Missouri in December, while everyone else was taking an emotional breather as the DOJ worked on its investigation.  You may have heard something about that report this week.

But if McVey is inspired by Rick Perry's business initiatives, then I just threw up in my mouth.  And not a little.  Because even Greg Abbott has decided to go in a different direction than that.  A quick perusal of McVey's Twitter feed shows a lot -- and I mean a lot -- of business "initiatives", including oil (not striking USW workers) and immigration (from the Silicon Valley perspective, and not the border children one).  Heavy sigh.  Forget this guy; pro-corporate free-trading neoliberals are NOT on the menu even if there are a handful of them in the mayor's race.  Third tier is where McVey was, is and remains.

The best:  The fundraising invitations on display from King, Oliver Pennington, and Costello, who is now going by 'Steve' (more manly I suppose, like McQueen or Stone Cold Austin).  See if you can spot the dupes on those lists.  I mean, the duplicates.

Second best: "Eric Dick, who is trolling us on Facebook."

I'm going to have to up my snark game.  In that regard, see Stace's post, which elbows me in the ribs about the source of last week's rumor concerning Sheriff Garcia; i.e. "a self-proclaimed mayoral campaign staffer of the republatino who’s rumored to become a perennial candidate if he runs a third time", and the comment from someone posted at the OP who loves Abel Davila a little too much.

March is roaring in like a lion.  How am I ever going to find the time to rank MLB players for my rotisserie baseball drafts, and research college basketball teams for picking an NCAA bracket?