Let your voice be heard at the Collin County Commissioners’ Court

Monday, April 5th, the Collin County Commissioners’ Court has on the agenda whether to pass a resolution expressing support for the highly partisan Republican Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s ill-advised lawsuit to block the implementation of the historic health insurance reform law enacted less than two weeks ago.

Please attend the meeting to voice your opposition -  Prosper Municipal Chambers, Prosper City Hall, 121 W. Broadway at 6pm.

Tell Judge Keith Self and the all-Republican County Commissioners’ Court not to engage in this political grandstanding nonsense. They should focus on looking forward to how the new law will save Collin County tax dollars!

Talking points compiled by Democratic nominee for Collin County Judge, David M. Smith:

1. Why is the Collin County Commissioners Court spending their time on a national issue? Why not focus on the county business you were elected to handle?

. . . and if you look for a tie to county business . . .

2. Why is the Collin County Commissioners Court supporting an initiative which will INCREASE future county costs?

The national bill recently signed in to law can potentially take county indigent health care costs to ZERO.  Why would the Commissioners Court instead support AG Abbott blocking the bill’s applicability to Texas, meaning Collin County would continue to pay MILLIONS of dollars each year for indigent health care?

Supporting facts:

• The current threshold for Medicaid eligibility is 26% of federal poverty level (FPL) income.
• The current threshold for Collin County indigent health care eligibility is 100% of FPL income.
• Collin County currently picks up health care costs for people in the 26-100% range
  (as well as below 26% pending Medicaid enrollment – but that’s another story.)
• The national bill recently signed into law will raise the Medicaid eligibility threshold to 133% of FPL.
• If we can get them enrolled in Medicaid quickly enough, EVERYBODY in the county indigent health care program can have their care paid by Medicaid rather than the county.

Related Note:
Abbott and others say the federal law is “bad for Texas” because although the federal government will initially fund 100% of the extra Medicaid cost, Texas and other states will have to fund 10% some years out. This future unfunded mandate is one basis for some states opposing the law.

Summary:
The Collin County Commissioners Court would rather play national partisan politics than tend to county business. Any commissioner support of AG Abbott’s initiative is a blatant example of ideological impairment, preventing them from realizing that Abbott is actually seeking to cement in millions of dollars of future county costs that will otherwise go away.

Let your voice be heard! Tell the Collin County Commissioners’ Court that they should be doing the work of the citizens of Collin County, and not the bidding of big insurance companies! We need to spend our time standing up for the lives of people, and not the excessive profits of health insurance companies!

To see the resolution on the agenda, click here and then click on the “8″.