Texas Democratic Party: Moving Texas Forward

Health Care for Individuals and Small Businesses

Texas Democrats believe health care is a right, not a privilege reserved for those able to pay for it.  Texas Democrats oppose efforts by Republican politicians to repeal health insurance reform and return America to the disastrous system that has failed small businesses, working families and drained state and family budgets.  Every family deserves health care they can count on and a system that ensures stability, security, and access to care.

Texas Democrats realize important work remains to correctly implement health care changes at the state level.  Democrats oppose efforts by Republicans to go back to a system that allowed insurance companies to discriminate against Americans with illnesses, shove them off their plans and place lifetime limits on health care, preventing them from getting care when they needed it most. Democrats support effective implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act at the state level to protect Americans’ new, hard-fought health care rights. Texas Democrats:

• oppose Republican attempts to repeal the ban on denying coverage for preexisting conditions;
• oppose Republican attempts to repeal sweeping small business tax credits;
• oppose Republican attempts to repeal the ban on rescissions, where insurance companies shove individuals off their health insurance coverage if they develop a catastrophic illness;
• oppose Republican attempts to repeal tax breaks for Americans to aid in the purchase of health insurance;
• oppose Republican attempts to repeal the closure of the Medicare prescription drug donut hole that forced seniors to pay exorbitant prices under the Republican Medicare Part D plan;
• oppose Republican attempts to repeal the expansion of health insurance to uninsured Americans, including 4 million Texans;
• oppose Republican attempts to repeal the ability of parents to insure children up to age 26;
• oppose Republican attempts to repeal the creation of health insurance marketplaces where consumers can shop for and compare affordable, quality health insurance plans; and
• oppose Republican attempts to repeal a healthcare system based on prevention and wellness.

The previous health care system failed the American people, most especially Texans. Texas has the highest rate of uninsured among all 50 states, with over 1.4 million Texas children without insurance.  Even those fortunate enough to have good insurance spend too much for it.  The result: Americans pay more for health care than citizens of any other industrialized country.  Fewer Texans are receiving health insurance through their employers, and those who do have employer-provided health plans are paying higher out-of-pocket expenses for health care.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will have a positive impact on our state, greatly improving Texans’ existing health insurance policies and bringing millions of uninsured Texas citizens into coverage.  It reflects a change in the way we approach healthcare – shifting from a focus on treatment and disease and toward preventive approaches that ensure the health and long and productive life of all Americans.

In order to address critical health care needs, Texas Democrats:

• support guaranteed access to affordable, comprehensive universal health care for all United States citizens and legal residents;
• support creation of an insurance marketplace where small business owners can receive the same buying power that big businesses have while receiving tax credits to make employee coverage more affordable and dependable;
• support the creation of an efficient and robust Texas based health insurance exchange where Texans can access affordable, quality health insurance plans;
• support creation of a Texas universal health care plan as permitted under the Affordable Care Act to insure that every Texas resident has health insurance that covers medical, vision and dental care, full reproductive health services, preventive services, prescription drugs and mental health counseling and treatment;
• believe the state must realize all opportunities to maximize federal and state dollars available to fund health care costs, including enforcement of existing charity care requirements;
• oppose discrimination based on preexisting conditions and believe Texans with chronic illnesses should have access to coverage at an affordable price through the high risk pool with full coverage for all prescription medications during the interim period before the preexisting condition ban passed by Democrats takes effect; and
• believe medical decisions regarding treatment options should be made by physicians in consultation with patients, not by an insurance company or government lay people.

Protecting Medicaid

Medicaid plays an essential role in the health of millions of Texans, and Texas Democrats oppose misguided attempts by Republicans to dismantle and disrupt the delivery of services to needy Texans.  We support full restoration of the 2003 Medicaid cuts, with funding allocations for population and caseload growth, and re-establishing local and state partnerships to maximize funds for Medicaid programs that assure coverage to low-income Texans. We support an effective and sound expansion of the infrastructure needed to deliver coverage to all newly eligible recipients under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act living at or near the federal poverty level.

Prevention

Texas Democrats support the underlying philosophy of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: to move our country forward to a preventive based system where a priority is placed on the health and wellness of all Americans.  Democrats support the legislation’s elimination of co-payments for preventive services, as well as plans to expand community health centers and the number of primary care physicians and health care practitioners.  Democrats support efforts in Texas to increase the number of primary care physicians and nurses, as well efforts to encourage healthy living.

Improving Medicare

The Republican Medicare prescription drug program proved to be a tragic and confusing failure for the elderly, individuals with disabilities, and pharmacists who faced a maze of poorly designed regulations, bureaucracy and red tape. Republicans literally allowed big pharmaceutical and insurance companies to write the law for their advantage – with little or no regard for its practical impact on individuals and taxpayers. Democrats support the Medicare reforms passed by the Democratic Congress that close the costly prescription drug “donut hole” that burdened seniors.

Democrats support Medicare provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that provide free preventive care and increased services to rural areas while cracking down on waste and abuse and ensuring more money goes to benefits and not insurance providers.

Children’s Health Insurance

Texas Democrats proposed, fought for, and passed the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that provided health coverage to over 500,000 Texas children in working families until the Republicans gained control of the Legislature in 2003.  Although CHIP is a compassionate program that is also sound fiscal policy, an alternative to welfare and a bargain for taxpayers, Republican budget cuts slashed the number of children receiving CHIP benefits by more than 213,000 before Democrats increased their numbers in the State House and forced partial restoration of CHIP coverage in 2007.  In the meantime, Texas lost over a billion dollars in federal funds to states that covered more of their children while Texas, under the Republicans, passed laws and developed policies that make CHIP enrollment more difficult.  In addition to erecting barriers to enrollment, virtually all outreach programs were dismantled, and the failure in processing CHIP applications by the massive private-sector outsourcing contract with Bermuda-based Accenture resulted in many children losing CHIP coverage, with tragic consequences for some Texas families.

Democrats support full utilization of all federal funds that have been set aside specifically to improve the health of Texas children, and we oppose the redistribution of those funds to other states. Unless all punitive Republican policies are reversed and private contractors are held accountable, many Texas children who qualify for CHIP coverage will go uninsured and the federal dollars reserved for Texas children will continue to be spent in other states. We support full restoration of the original CHIP program and policies, reinstatement of the simplified application process, aggressive outreach to enroll all eligible children, and a 12 month period of continuous health coverage. We further support congressional Democrats’ expansion of the federal SCHIP program to allow greater opportunity for states to provide health coverage for children and a maintenance of effort provision to protect the program from cuts by Republicans in the Legislature.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services

Democrats support efforts to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental illness and drug dependent individuals.  Recognizing that untreated mental illness and substance abuse are widespread, Democrats support ways to increase access to mental health and substance abuse services by increasing the number of facilities offering such care while assuring their financial viability and maximizing utilization of the state’s public mental health system.  Full mental health parity in the private market would help eliminate stigma about mental illness and substance abuse, and make it more likely that individuals would seek treatment and proper maintenance of their mental health.

We support Medicare policies for psychiatric care that increase session times in place of inadequate follow-up sessions currently allowed.  We also support recent initiatives by the Federal Government to increase Medicaid funding for substance abuse treatment (medication assisted treatment and counseling) which will allow more individuals to have access to outpatient treatment where appropriate to help increase the likelihood that an individual will become a productive member of society while in treatment. Such intensive outpatient treatment would also be more cost effective. More “reality-based” substance abuse education at the primary school level should be encouraged. The Court system must be encouraged to allow treatment as the first option for drug offenders when appropriate, rather than incarceration that may often lead to a pattern of criminal behavior. Outpatient treatment that includes counseling and medication management, if needed, would also be a less costly alternative than incarceration. We support community-based mental health services for children and adults. One family member receiving mental health treatment will have a positive effect on the entire family and then society as a whole.

HIV, Hepatitis C, and STDs’ Education and Services

Texas Democrats support increased education initiatives and services to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic, increased instances of Hepatitis C and in sexually transmitted diseases. These initiatives and services should include increased access to treatment and therapy that improves quality of life and encourages return to the workforce. Funding for treatment and therapy through Community Health Centers should be encouraged. City and County health officials should be encouraged to provide adequate budgets for the operation of programs proven to prevent communicable diseases.

Stem Cell Research

Stem cell research should not be held hostage to politics that limits the potential for conquering many debilitating and deadly illnesses. Texas has world-class research facilities that cannot attract world-class talent and funding until we take stem cell research out of politics and put it into the labs where research could lead to life-saving therapies.  Texas Democrats strongly and unconditionally support research into stem cell therapies and state funding for research into stem cell therapies at state public universities. Curing disease is the right thing to do, and stem cell lines should be expanded without increasing or encouraging any high risk procedures.

Eliminating Health Disparities

Millions of African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, American Indians and Americans disadvantaged by income, gender and region continue to live sicker and die younger than others. Cultural and language barriers remain a particular problem for immigrant communities. We support the elimination of health care disparities by increasing research and training for medical professionals, breaking down language barriers, and ensuring health care access for all Americans. We support efforts to encourage more minority students to enter the sciences. We support efforts to ensure that women have access to the best medicines, state-of-the-art prevention and detection techniques, as well as nutrition and exercise programs. We support improved access to essential medical services by making more primary care, emergency and other underserved physician services available and more equitably distributed.

Choice and Family Planning

Texas Democrats believe in the fundamental American values of freedom, privacy and personal responsibility. We believe in the right to make sound, responsible personal healthcare choices for ourselves and our families. Texas Democrats:

• trust the women of Texas to make personal and responsible decisions about when and whether to bear children, in consultation with their family, their physician, personal conscience or their God, rather than having these personal decisions made by politicians;
• support prevention measures which have proven effective at reducing unintended pregnancies, and which would reduce the rate of abortion when made affordable, accessible, and available as effective long-term programs.  These programs include family planning and birth control, including emergency contraception free from judgment or pressure;
• support using sound, mainstream medical science to guide reproductive health care policies;
• support targeted efforts to reduce Texas’ high teen pregnancy rates, including the provision of accurate and effective, comprehensive age-appropriate sex education programs with an abstinence component, to reduce the rate of abortion;
• support resources for pregnant and parenting teens while encouraging them to continue their education and career development;
• support family planning funding for pregnancy prevention and preventive health care in regulated, licensed medical facilities, rather than biased and non-medical activities;
• support women’s access to affordable pre-natal care, including pregnancy insurance and pre-natal vitamins to support healthy pregnancies;
• support paid maternity and/or paternity leave to support healthy families;
• support women’s access to accurate information about adoption and related resources;
• support affordable, quality child-care to support and keep healthy families intact;
• promote policies that value Texas families and their children throughout their lives; and
• support policies for women that promote keeping families healthy and intact through preventative gynecological health care that is crucial to the health of women in caring for their families.