Report of the
Governmental Affairs Committee
Update of Children’s Health Insurance Program - CHIP
The House and Senate approved a $35 billion, five-year
reauthorization of the
Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). As expected,
President Bush vetoed the bill. With one exception, the Texas
congressional delegation voted along party lines. Sen. Kay
Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) voted for the package.
Positives of the bill-
-
It provides
the first positive update for physician Medicare payments in
three years: .5 percent in 2008 and another .5 percent in
2009;
-
It fixes
the floor on geographic cost adjustments for two more years,
the Geographical Practice Cost Index (GPCI); and
-
It
reauthorizes the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
with an additional $50 billion over the next five years.
Negatives of
the bill-
-
It limits
physician ownership of hospitals to 40 percent for all
physician investors and 2 percent for any single physician,
and
- It provides
deep cuts for imaging and nuclear medicine.
Proposition 15
Early voting
begins October 22, 2007 for the fall ballot, which includes
Proposition 15, the constitutional amendment authorizing the
state to issue $3 billion in bonds to establish the Cancer
Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. Ten percent of the
funds would be used for cancer prevention and treatment
