THA Statement On Medicaid Waiver Action

(AUSTIN, Texas – April 16, 2021)  – The following is a statement from Ted Shaw, Texas Hospital Association president/CEO, on the federal government’s action today to rescind the 10-year Medicaid 1115 waiver extension that was granted by the previous administration. Set to be in place through 2030, the waiver extension would have provided life-saving health care funding for Texas.

“The Texas Hospital Association is extremely disappointed by today’s action by CMS to abruptly rescind the previously approved waiver extension for Texas. With an ongoing pandemic and millions of uninsured Texans, Texas hospitals have been stretched like never before and clearly have a critical role in protecting the health and wellbeing of all Texans. This action undermines the safety net and hospitals’ ability to protect people. It puts the state’s health at serious risk and creates unprecedented levels of uncertainty for an industry that is charged with saving lives. The waiver extension would have helped the state to seamlessly continue support for much-needed health care improvements and would have continued stable funding for hospitals that serve large numbers of uninsured patients.”

About THA
Founded in 1930, the Texas Hospital Association is the leadership organization and principal advocate for the state’s hospitals and health care systems. Based in Austin, THA enhances its members’ abilities to improve accessibility, quality and cost-effectiveness of health care for all Texans. One of the largest hospital associations in the country, THA represents 452 of the state’s non-federal general and specialty hospitals and health care systems, which employ some 400,000 health care professionals statewide. Learn more about THA at www.tha.org or follow THA on Twitter at https://twitter.com/texashospitals.