Gov. Greg Abbott announced Sept. 17 that the federal government has approved nearly $12 billion in Medicaid funding for Texas health care providers, ending a months-long impasse with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The approval clears Texas’ Medicaid directed payment programs, which the Texas Hospital Association said in a Sept. 17 news release had gone without federal sign-off since Sept. 1. The association said hospitals and other Medicaid providers were losing $27 million every day the approval was withheld. Those programs help bridge the gap between Medicaid’s base payment rates and the actual cost of care, according to the association, and they underwrite hospital staffing, service lines and emergency room operations.
“This funding is a major victory for Texas patients,” Abbott said in a news release from his office. The governor said the money authorizes nearly $12 billion for hospitals, physicians, rural clinics, nursing facilities and behavioral health providers that serve patients in every region of the state. “Emergency rooms will stay open, rural families will retain local care, and Texans will have access to the treatment they need,” he said, thanking CMS and the Trump administration.
Hospital leaders described the announcement as the end of a sustained campaign. John Hawkins, president and CEO of the Texas Hospital Association, said the outcome lifts a threat that had been building for months.
“We can breathe easier today. The Medicaid crisis hanging over our heads has been averted. We are deeply grateful to Gov. Abbott and other state and federal leaders who listened, took our concerns seriously and acted with urgency to protect Texas patients,” Hawkins said in the association’s release. “Hospitals can focus on what they do best — saving lives and caring for Texans. Our gratitude cannot be overstated.”
The association said the resolution removes the immediate threat of billions of dollars in lost health care funding that would have strained the state’s health care safety net and forced hospitals to close service lines. It credited the governor, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, congressional leadership and the federal government with restoring the money.
The governor’s office said it worked alongside the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to secure the approval, and that the state will continue working with federal partners on access to care. Founded in 1930, the Texas Hospital Association represents more than 85% of the state’s acute-care hospitals and health care systems, which employ roughly 400,000 health care professionals statewide, according to the association.