AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ Cuts proposed to state Medicaid funding could mean reduced access to medical care throughout the state’s rural areas.
For example, Dr. Mike Henderson of Childress tells the Austin American-Statesman that cuts could close the obstetrical unit at Childress Regional Medical Center, the only hospital within 100 miles of Childress that delivers babies.
State Rep. John Zerwas tells the American-Statesman that he understands the dilemma. The suburban Houston Republican is an anesthesiologist, and he says the state’s Medicaid rates are “woefully inadequate.”
Henderson’s son, John Henderson, is the Childress hospital’s chief executive. He says 70 percent of the infants delivered there are Medicaid cases, and the hospital loses about $1,000 on each.
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Information from: Austin American-Statesman, http://www.statesman.com
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)