Fw: Legislative Update--HB 15, budget and more

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TEXAS Ladies,

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Martha Murdock, DirectorNational Silicone Implant Foundation | Dallas Headquarters"Supporting Survivors of Medical Implant Devices"4416 Willow LaneDallas, TX 75244-7537

----- Original Message ----- From: Texas Campaign for Women's Health

Action Alert

Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2003 4:55 PM

Subject: Legislative Update--HB 15, budget and more

Texas Campaign for Women's Health Action AlertPlease forward widely!In this message:1) Update HB 15‹Take Action!2) Update on Appropriations bill in the House3) Update on the budget in the Senate‹Take Action!4) News on health and human services cuts ******************************************Dear advocates,Things have been busy in the capitol! And there's so much for us to do!HB 15 passed out of the all-male House State Affairs Committee Tuesday by a vote of 7-1 WITH the requirement to MISINFORM women about a link between abortion and breast cancer. Representative Mike Villareal (D-San ) was the only vote against the bill. Now the bill will go to the House floor, where we hope to be able to pass an amendment to remove that language.Contact YOUR REPRESENTATIVE today! Look up your representative at http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/fyi/fyi.htm

What you can do RIGHT NOW!Send a fax explaining to your representative that the purported link between abortion and breast cancer has been rejected by the nation¹s top panel of scientists.The scientific panel appointed by the director of the National Cancer Institute has concluded that there is no evidence that having an abortion increases the risk of breast cancer later in life. The panel¹s conclusion was based on four new studies and a review of earlier ones that were all reported at a cancer institute workshop in late February. The panel, which was composed of the institute¹s Board of Scientific Advisors and Board of Scientific Counselors, unanimously accepted the findings from the workshop on in March 2003.Every major national cancer organization‹including the National Breast Cancer Coalition and the American Cancer Society‹has rejected the faulty claim that having an elected abortion increases a woman¹s risk for breast cancer. Remind your Rep that regardless of her/his representative¹s position on abortion, their vote to mandate misinformation to women shows utter disrespect and disregard for the best interests of at least half of their constituents. ****************************************The appropriations bill will hit the House floor Monday or Tuesday. As you¹ll recall, the House Appropriations Committee voted Article IX of the Appropriations bill out of committee without the damaging rider proposed by Rep. Wohlgemuth. To review, the rider would have prohibited ANY funds‹state or federal‹from being appropriated or granted to ANY entity if it or any of its affiliates provides abortions, or refers or counsels for abortion services, or advocates for the legality or accessibility of elective abortion.For example, a local Planned Parenthood affiliate may operate 10 full-service family planning clinics. If just one of these clinics offers pregnancy counseling that includes informing women of their legal option to obtain an abortion‹even if that clinic does not provide abortions­all those Planned Parenthood clinics will be cut off from receiving public funds through the state.As the full House debates the bill, we¹ll be watching for similar riders and amendments that would jeopardize the availability of family planning services. You may contact you representative to remind them once again of the importance of family planning services for women: Family planning clinics are the only source of health care for many uninsured and low-income women. Nationwide, over 80% of women receiving care at family planning clinics have no other source of medical care.A typical family planning visit includes:o A physical examination;o contraceptive methods counseling;o risk reduction education; and,o screening for breast cancer, cervical cancer, diabetes, hypertension, anemia, kidney infection/disease, sexually transmitted diseases and other conditions. The network of family planning clinics around the state is the single largest mechanism for screening women for breast and cervical cancer and diabetes, as well as the others for which screening is available.We CANNOT afford to lose this vital source of medical care for the women of Texas.***************************************And on the other side of the capitol:

REMINDER: Senate Plans Deeper Cuts to Health & Human Services (1) Call your senator and demand they oppose SB 1862 (and all cuts to HHS funding. (2) Pass this on to those outside the Austin area, especially to anyone you know in Amarillo, Waco, DRW, Lubbock and Houston SB 1862 (Bivins - Amarillo, Finance Chair) is so horrific, one would think it's an April Fool's joke. But, it's true. Some of the "highlights" include: 1. Terminating [all] funding for breast and cervical screening, diagnostic and other related services; 2. Terminating [all] funding for services to women and infants with high risk conditions under the Targeted Case Management Program; 3. Terminating funding for prenatal care through Medicaid for thousands of women; 4. Terminating funding for health insurance (CHIP) for 250,000 children; 5. Terminating [all] funding for in-home & family support services to adults & children with disabilities; 6. Terminating [all] funding for substance abuse counseling and services; 7. Cutting Medicaid payments to healthcare providers by 33%; 8. Drastically reducing payments to foster parents caring for abused and neglected children. You can read the bill at www.capitol.state.tx.us; enter SB 1862 at "Quick Bill Status" box. What you can do RIGHT NOW!Please: Call your Senator on the Finance Committee (see below): - identify yourself as a constituent; - tell the staff person that you want YOUR Senator to oppose cuts to health and humans services, especially: _________________ [you fill in with those cuts about which you are most outraged or will hurt you or your loved ones]. Senate Finance Committee Senator Teel Bivins, Chair (R-Amarillo) Capitol Office Room 1E.5 (512) 463-0131 Senator Judith Zaffirini, Vice Chair (D-Laredo) Capitol Office Room 1E.12 (512) 463-0121 Senator Kip Averitt (R-Waco) Capitol Office Room EXT. 1.608 (512) 463-0122 Fax: (512) 475-3729 Senator Gonzalo Barrientos (D-Austin) Capitol Office Room 3S.18 (512) 463-0114 Fax: (512) 463-5949 Senator Kim Brimer (R-FortWorth) Capitol Office Room EXT 1.712 (512) 463-0110 Senator Duncan (R-Lubbock) Capitol Office Room 3E.12 (512) 463-0128 Senator Janek (R-Houston) Capitol Office Room3E.16 (512) 463-0117 Senator Jane (R-Flower Mound) Capitol Office Room 1E.3 (512) 463-0112 Fax: (512) 463-0923 Senator Steve Ogden (R-) Capitol Office Room 3S.3 (512) 463-0105 Senator Florence Shapiro (R-Plano) Capitol Office Room 3E.2 Phone (512) 463-0108 Fax: (512) 463-7579 Senator Eliot Shapleigh (D-El Paso) Capitol Office Room EXT 1.706 (512) 463-0129 Senator Todd Staples (R-Palestine) Capitol Office Room EXT 1.708 (512) 463-0103 Senator Royce West (D-Dallas) Capitol Office Room 3E.10 (512) 463-0123 Senator Whitmire (D-Houston) Capitol Office Room 1E.13 (512) 463-0115 Senator Tommy (R-The Woodlands) Capitol Office Room GE.7 (512) 463-0104 Fax: (512) 463-6373 ***************************************Media‹In the NewsCuts to Health Care will affect local governmentsFrom the Dallas Morning News:Tarrant officials warn against proposed healthcare cuts04/10/2003 By SHELLEY KOFLER / WFAA-TV If given a choice, would Tarrant County residents pay higher property taxes, or close their public hospital? County commissioner Glenn Whitley, along with other local officials from across Texas, visited Austin Wednesday with a warning for state lawmakers: adopt proposed health care cuts, and communities may be forced to raise property taxes. Whitley isn't sure homeowners will stand for that. "My citizens did not elect me to raise their taxes without giving them some voice in the deal," Whitley said. "When we lose 40 cents from the state, we at the same time lose another 60 cents from the federal government," Whitley said. To pick up the slack, Whitley said the Tarrant County Hospital District would have to raise its property taxes about 20 percent. Before Whitley would do that, he'd give Tarrant voters the option of closing JPS - a major trauma center where employees deliver more newborns than any other hospital in the county. State Representative Charlie Geren of Fort Worth said he would support letting voters chose between higher property taxes or closing JPS, though he warns shutting the doors would be disastrous. "It would be a disaster, an absolute disaster," Geren said. "It would shut down not only the public hospital, it would throw that indigent care to the private hospitals - and probably cause them to close because they can't handle it." State Senator Jane chairs the Senate's Health and Human Services committee. She hopes more money for health care can be found. For her, losing the hospital that's cared for the needy for more than a century isn't an option. "I always support giving voters a choice, but that¹s a pretty Draconian choice," said. The discussion about Hospital¹s future comes days before the Texas House will vote on the state budget. Right now, a Tarrant County property owner with a $100,000 home pays some $230 in hospital taxes each year. Whitley said that tab would go up about $50 if the House's current budget proposal becomes law. More threats to CHIP and Medicaid: Rep. responds to HB2292Sixty Percent of "Savings" Under CSHB 2292 Are Cuts To Kids Bill Kicks 600,000 Medicaid & CHIP Kids Off Services By: Office of Representative Garnet F. Date: 4/8/2003 Austin (April 8, 2003) - Rep. Garnet (D-Houston), today stated that CSHB 2292, the omnibus health and human services restructuring bill authored by Rep. Wohlgemuth, is responsible for the $980 million in savings assumed under HB 1, the appropriations bill. The majority of savings are derived from cutting health coverage to children under CHIP and Medicaid and several policy changes that will reinstitute barriers to enrollment in health coverage provided under both programs. Rep. stated approximately $600 million of the savings result from reductions in CHIP and Medicaid programs. "Sixty Percent of the overall so called `savings' under CSHB 2292 come from reductions in income eligibility and continuous eligibility. Calling this `savings' assumes that the state has excess money when we clearly do not. These `savings' assumed in HB 1 result in 600,000 children being turned away from health coverage, making it clear that a conscious decision has been made to balance this budget on the backs of children," said Rep. . Some of the provisions lowering enrollment and services under CSHB 2292 include:* Lowering CHIP income eligibility from 200% to 150% Federal Poverty Level (FPL). * Lowering CHIP continuous eligibility from 12 months to 6 months. * Lowering Children's Medicaid continuous eligibility from 6 months to 3 months. * Removing income disregards, denying services to those recipients who previously qualified for CHIP due to high child care and work related expenses. * Limiting Medicaid drug prescriptions to 4 every 34 days.HB 1, the appropriations bill, was passed out of committee yesterday and is expected to be heard on the House floor early next week. Several legislators have joined with Rep. since the beginning of the legislative session in calling on the leadership to fully fund programs for children. "Why does the leadership consider it good public policy to refuse our children vital services under CHIP and Medicaid? It really comes down to priorities and what we value as a society. Unfortunately, we are still waiting for the leadership to make kids a priority," said Rep. .********************Lesley RamseyProject DirectorTexas Campaign for Women's Health905-A W. OltorfAustin, Texas 78704(512) 448-4857(512) 448-3373 fax