Austin Leaders Leverage Bipartisan County Support for Medicaid
"With more than $200 million a year at stake, the Travis County Commissioners Court is urging the Legislature to expand Medicaid coverage to more needy people in Texas, the state with highest rate of uninsured residents. The court spent time Tuesday tweaking the resolution that it passed last week to satisfy its lone Republican member, Gerald Daugherty. It was approved unanimously, 5-0. Austin Interfaith leader Oralia Garza Cortes called the bipartisan support "absolutely critical" and said that sister organizations of the advocacy group in Dallas and Bexar counties helped pass similar resolutions this month."
Read moreCOPS / Metro Alliance Fights for County Support of Medicaid
"Groups seeking expansion of Texas' Medicaid program will plead their case outside the Bexar County Courthouse on Tuesday before Commissioners Court is set to take up a resolution supporting their position....Leading the 9:30 a.m. gathering Tuesday ... will be County Judge Nelson Wolff. Also expected are representatives of the county hospital system community organizations called COPS/Metro Alliance.
Read morePersonal Stories Drive Fight for Medicaid Expansion
"Valley Interfaith leader Rosalie Tristan gave two personal healthcare stories to highlight the need for expanding Medicaid. Tristan...spoke of her 55-year-old brother, David Contreras, a husband and father of two. He has a tumor on the back of his head the size of a melon. He has been told he has to come up with $10,000 in order to see a doctor. He does not have $10,000.
He has also been told he cannot go to the emergency room of his local hospital until the body tissue bursts. He earns too much to qualify for Medicaid...."
Read moreNetwork of Texas Organizations Fights for Medicaid Expansion
"The Network of Texas Organizations, convened 200 leaders from various faith traditions on the steps of the Capitol to call on Gov. Rick Perry and the Texas Legislature to expand Medicaid.
Religious leaders and clergy from throughout the state gathered at the north entrance the Capitol on Wednesday at noon to rally in support of Medicaid expansion..."
Read moreAustin Interfaith Leverages County Support for Medicaid
"At the urging of Austin Interfaith, the Travis County Commissioners Court this week passed a resolution supporting expansion. Dallas County has approved a similar resolution, and Bexar County is expected to do the same next week....
Read moreDallas Area Interfaith Challenges Texas Governor to ‘Opt-In’
"Gov. Rick Perry might have been surprised to hear his name invoked repeatedly during a recent gathering at Christ's Foundry United Methodist Mission. But the rollicking crowd that filled the northwest Dallas church was not praising the governor's leadership or even praying for his soul.
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