Texas human services officials have agreed to delay signing new Medicaid contracts until summer so lawmakers can weigh in on a proposal to force three nonprofit children’s hospital plans out of the program and change coverage for 1.8 million low-income Texans.
The delay, detailed in court filings this week, temporarily halts a challenge to a court-ordered ban on new contracts that included a proposed $116 billion overhaul for managed care organizations covering low-income Texans in the state’s Medicaid STAR program and Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Officials with Cook Children’s Health Plan in Fort Worth, one of the nonprofits affected by the proposed changes, called the agreement good news and said they look forward to working with lawmakers “to ensure a just and equitable solution.”
“As we’ve consistently maintained, this issue is of paramount importance, affecting thousands of children and families in many underserved communities across Texas,” officials said in a written statement to The Dallas Morning News. “This is undoubtedly the right course of action. Thank you to everyone involved.”