Burnt Orange Report

Follow The Stupidity

By Andrew Dobbs

In 2003, changes in eligibility for CHIP meant that hundreds of thousands of kids lost their health care. The architect of these changes was Arlene Wohlgemuth. From the Quorum Report, November of last year:

Discussion over CHIP funding was a key issue in the Congressional District 17 race because, as a Texas House member last session, Republican candidate Arlene Wohlgemuth had been the author of the funding cuts. Wohlgemuth lost to incumbent U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Waco).

And yesterday, the Texas Hospital Association released a report saying that the Wohlgemuth-led cuts have really hurt Texas. From the press release announcing the report:

According to a study released today at a capitol news conference, “Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program funding cuts represent short-sighted and counterproductive public policy given the current national framework for indigent care.” At the request of the Texas Hospital Association, noted economist Ray Perryman, Ph.D., president of The Perryman Group based in Waco, has calculated the economic impact of cuts in Medicaid and CHIP made in 2003 when the Texas Legislature faced a $10 billion shortfall. Perryman concluded that reductions in state spending for Medicaid and CHIP are “a losing proposition in that for every dollar saved through cuts, far more is lost in federal funding, insurance premiums and other associated costs.” (...)

According to the Perryman study, the net reduction in state funding for Medicaid and CHIP is approximately $2.34 billion for the 2004-05 biennium. About $1.481 billion represents foregone federal revenues.

Now comes the not so funny part- according to Quorum Report today, Arlene Wohlgemuth is the new lobbyist for the Texas Hospital Association.

So an organization that not 24 hours ago was decrying her work in costing the state BILLIONS of dollars has now hired her to represent them in trying to undo her seminal accomplishment- balancing the budget on the back of poor children so that her rich donors wouldn't have to pay higher taxes. Great job THA, you have proved your own irrelevance.