Citing ‘irreparable injury’ to kids, judge blocks deep Medicaid cuts
AUSTIN -- A Travis County judge on Friday blocked Texas from cutting $350 million in Medicaid funding, an order the state is expected to appeal despite mounting evidence those cuts will restrict access to care for thousands of poor and disabled children.
At the crux of the case is a question of whether Texas lawmakers’ mandate to trim $150 million in payments to therapists — the state’s share over the next two years — will cause as many as 60,000 children to lose access to services such as speech and occupational therapy.
In the temporary injunction that blocked the rate reduction from going into effect Oct. 1, State District Judge Tim Sulak said, “If a temporary injunction is not granted, plaintiffs will probably suffer irreparable injury … the minor children represented in this lawsuit, plus thousands of other Texas children receiving pediatric services under the Texas Medicaid program, will probably be deprived of those critical services.”
Eugene Clayborn, an assistant state attorney general representing the Health and Human Services Commission, declined comment, but he is expected to appeal the temporary injunction to the conservative 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin. If the higher court doesn’t overturn the injunction, health officials cannot implement Medicaid cuts while the case heads to a trial, tentatively scheduled for mid-January.
Read more: http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/citing-irreparable-injury-to-children-judge-blocks/nnnyd/?icmp=statesman_internallink_referralbox_free-to-premium-referral
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