Tomlinson: Medicaid a favored place to cut
the rainy day fund will soon set a record at $12 billion, some conservative activists oppose using it. That’s who Patrick is trying to impress with his budget.
Health and humanservices is the largest item, and how the state spends that money determines which hospitals stay open, which doctors make money and who has access to health care. Medicaid, the health insurance for poor children, the disabled and the impoverished elderly, is where lawmakers most like to cut.
That’s a constant battle because as the state’s population grows, so do Medicaid rolls. And as the Medicaid population ages, so does the cost of treating them. And then there is inflation. The Senate bill doesn’t finance any of those increases, while the House bill finances only enrollment growth.
“Obviously this budget will require a lot of cost-containment initiatives, which is going to affect the provider community,” Craymer said. “The heath care community is currently on shifting sands.”
Thesecond-largest item is education. The current funding system relies on state funds to top off local property taxes, of which businesses pay the largest share. Funds are also taken from wealthy districts and sent to poor districts to meet the constitutional requirement that tax dollars are evenly distributed.
Property tax collections have been rising in recent years, which means the state doesn’t legally have to contribute as much money to schools. So even though districts are collecting more in property taxes, the loss of state money means no net change in funding.
The House budget offers some relief by adding an extra $1.5 bil- lion to the current formula. The Senate plan, though, pockets the savings.
“Abig part of the spending cuts in this budget is being paid for by local property tax dollars,” Craymer said. “Andthat will be a challenge because property taxes are a huge investment barrier for this state.”
Texas is the ninth-least-educated state, according to graduation rates, and yet the Senate’s bill would cut $800 million from higher education funding. The Senate would also continue to spend $800 million on a border security program that the Associated Press recently reported accomplishes almost nothing.
Patrick also has proposed freezing college tuition rates and cutting financial aid, hurting university and student budgets.
With President Donald Trump pledging to boost border security, one would think Patrick would redeploy state troopers back to under-patrolled parts of North and West Texas instead of keep- ing them writing traffic tickets along the border. After all, every business leader tells me their biggest problem is finding qualified workers, not immigration.
When the state cuts funding for health and education, local governments and school boards are left with the bill. Patrick rails against local property taxes, but he forces local officials to raise rates by burdening them with a greater share of indigent health care and public education costs.
Neither of the draft budgets will survive the committee process, but they reveal the divide between the 150-member House’s commitment to Texas’ future and the 31-member Senate’s readiness to prioritize Patrick’s political grandstanding.
Texas businesses need a healthy and educated workforce, good infrastructure and a strong economy. Let your law makers know you want wise investment of taxpayer dollars, not shortterm political posturing that hurts our state in the long run. Chris Tomlinson is the Chronicle’s business columnist. His commentary appears on Sundays and Wednesdays. He also posts a daily news analysis at HoustonChronicle.com/ Boardroom. chris.tomlinson@chron.com twitter.com/cltomlinson