Texas passes Medicaid patch

Houston Chronicle:

The Texas House unanimously approved a bill Thursday to pay a multibillion-dollar Medicaid IOU and ensure the program has enough money to keep caring for Texas' poor.

"This is a bill that we must pass" to continue Medicaid services to 3 million people in Texas and ensure health care providers are paid, said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie.

Unless the funding is quickly approved by lawmakers, Medicaid will run out of money next month, Pitts said. House Bill 10, approved 148-0, now goes to the Senate.

The $4.8 billion bill mainly pays for Medicaid costs pushed off two years ago when lawmakers faced the prediction of a massive revenue shortfall. It also covers funding due the Children's Health Insurance Programand allocates some money needed for schools to get through the fiscal year.

...

Arlene Wohlgemuth explains how unsustainable the Medicaid program already is and how Obamacare will make it worse.  Medicaid already consumes around 25 percent of the entire state budget.  Adding more people to the program would only make the system worse.