Funding Strategic Health & Human Services Priorities for Texas Kids

Testimony to the House Appropriations Article II Subcommittee
Recommendations Relating to the HHSC Budget - Medicaid, CHIP, Women’s Health Programs

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We appreciate the hard work that the House and Legislative Budget Board have put into crafting House Bill 1 to provide a starting place for budget deliberations. As the House Appropriations Article II Subcommittee considers the FY 2020-2021 budget, we respectfully offer the following recommendations: fund Exceptional Items #1 and #2 to cover anticipated cost trends in Medicaid and CHIP and maintain health services for children, pregnant women, and Texans with disabilities; include a budget rider and funding for kids to stay in Medicaid for a year to improve continuity of care and reduce costs to the state; fund initiatives to ensure women have comprehensive coverage before, during, and after pregnancy to support healthy mothers and babies; fund Exceptional Item #8 to maintain current funding for women’s preventive care in Texas’ women’s health programs; and include a budget rider to auto-enroll young adults into Healthy Texas Women when they exit CHIP or Children’s Medicaid.