AUSTIN — Lawmakers from both parties are rolling out bills this month to overhaul the Texas Medicaid system, introducing protections for vulnerable patients who are denied treatments, increasing state oversight and signaling a crackdown on health care corporations that get richer by providing less care.
A package of about a dozen bills aim to fix widespread problems exposed by a Dallas Morning News investigation last year. That series, “Pain & Profit,”showed how companies that Texas pays to care for millions of sick, disabled and extremely poor people were skimping on treatments and medical equipment to boost profits.
“We need to take a step back and just look at the entire system,” said Rep. Sarah Davis, the Houston Republican leading the House effort to address systemic failures.
She plans to file her bill Tuesday, as parents of sick and disabled children host a rally on the north steps of the Capitol.