Former Deputy Comptroller Billy Hamilton to Testify Before Legislature about Economic Impact of Expanding State Medicaid Program

San Antonio, Texas -- Billy Hamilton, the former deputy comptroller for Texas and the author of the Methodist Healthcare Ministries’ (MHM) commissioned report, “Expanding Medicaid in Texas: Smart, Affordable and Fair,” is expected to testify before the Texas House Appropriations Committee in Austin on Friday, March 8, 2013 regarding the potential expansion to the state’s Medicaid program.

Hamilton’s testimony comes on the heels of House Speaker Joe Straus’ (R-San Antonio) plea to fellow Republican lawmakers to come together in order to propose a solution that would be supported by our state leadership.

According to Hamilton, under a moderate enrollment scenario, Texas could experience a $1.8 billion increase in taxes from new federal Medicaid funds from fiscal years 2014 to 2017. Proponents of expanding the state Medicaid program have hailed the economic analysis within the report as the singular and most compelling argument for why Texas should follow suit with the expansion.

Dr. Michael Cline and Dr. Steve Murdock, authors of the MHM-commissioned report, “Estimates of the Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Counties in Texas” will also be present at the hearing to offer lawmakers their perspective on how Texas counties will be impacted by implementation of the Affordable Care Act, which gives states the option of expanding their state Medicaid program.

The hearing will take place just as advocates plan to gather at the Capitol for a legislative briefing hosted by the Center for Public Policy Priorities. Attendees at the briefing will have an opportunity to hear from Dr. Cline and Dr. Murdock as they present findings from their report, as well as Dr. Leighton Ku of George Washington University as he presents findings from the MHM-commissioned report, “The Potential Primary Care Crisis in Texas: A County Based Analysis.”

Each study highlights the impact of implementing the Affordable Care Act at different enrollment scenarios on a county-by-county level, and even addresses the workforce issues that will no doubt become part and parcel of the debate as lawmakers grapple with expanding the state Medicaid program.

For more information about the legislative briefing hosted by the Center for Public Policy Priorities, contact Brian Stephens at stephens@cppp.org. To download the reports by Dr. Cline and Dr. Murdock, Mr. Hamilton, and Dr. Ku visit www.mhm.org.