Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 8, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 10, 2014 Page: 3 of 40
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Denton Record-Chronicle
STATE
Sunday, August 10, 2014
3A
Texas sees little savings from health overhaul
By Ramit Plushnick-Masti
Associated Press
HOUSTON - Mike Norby
is no longer basking in praise
over Houston surpassing enroll-
ment expectations in the federal
health insurance marketplace.
Four months later, the story be-
hind the numbers isn’t as rosy
for the county health care pro-
gram he helps oversee.
Harris Health System — like
other programs across the state
— hasn’t enjoyed the expected
savings from the Affordable
Care Act because most of its
48,000 patients eligible for sub-
sidized insurance instead chose
to remain enrolled in the coun-
ty’s cheaper taxpayer-funded
medical care.
Now, public entities from
Houston to El Paso are scram-
bling to tweak rules to make
those who qualify for subsidized
insurance ineligible for the local
programs.
“We’re not seeing much im-
pact at all,” said Norby, the chief
financial officer for the Harris
County system, which spends
more than $500 million a year
caring for the uninsured.
Texas, which has the nation’s
highest uninsured rate at about
a quarter of the population, far
exceeded expectations in the
first enrollment drive that ended
in mid-April, with more than
733,000 people signing up. Lo-
cal officials and nonprofits toiled
for months to reach the unin-
sured, investing financial and
personnel resources.
Harris Health System
trained hundreds of employees
to assist with enrollment after
identifying that about 15 percent
of the approximately 300,000
enrolled in the county’s subsi-
dized medical program qualified
for subsidized insurance, Norby
said.
“In theory, that would have
made a dent in the amount of
taxpayer money going toward
this,” Norby said.
While exact statistics won’t
be compiled until later this year,
Norby said not many people
who were eligible for subsidized
insurance appear to have
dropped out of the county pro-
gram.
He said those who decided
against insurance evaluated the
monthly premiums and bal-
anced them against the $10 co-
pay typically required for county
services. In addition, the penalty
in 2014 for not purchasing in-
surance will be either 1 percent
of income or $95, whichever is
greater — a lower annual cost
than the monthly premium.
That penalty will rise in sub-
sequent years, but not fast
enough. So Harris County wants
to change the rules to force those
eligible for a marketplace subsi-
dy to enroll, and make them in-
eligible for the county program.
But because changes can only
occur once a year, and must go
through a public comment peri-
od, they won’t be ready by No-
vember when the next round of
open enrollment in the federal
marketplace begins.
The situation in El Paso is
similar.
Of the 644 patients that re-
ceived enrollment assistance
from the University Medical
Center of El Paso, 101 selected an
insurance plan. Another 188
qualified for subsidies but didn’t
enroll, said Henry Garcia, the
hospital’s managed care con-
tracting manager.
More than half the patients
didn’t qualify for subsidies at all,
falling into a “Medicaid gap” cre-
ated by Texas’ decision not to ex-
pand the program — another
strain on local resources.
Not reaching more people is
a loss for the district, which paid
$222.8 million in fiscal year
2013 to care for the uninsured,
Garcia said in an email.
In Dallas, the Parkland
Health and Hospital System in-
vested more than $760 million
in the 2013 fiscal year to care for
the uninsured.
About 16 percent — or just
over 22,000 — of the 140,000
patients in charity programs
qualified for a marketplace sub-
sidy. The hospital helped some
14,000 enroll, said Bob Reed,
Parkland’s vice president of pa-
tient services.
“With the greatest number of
our population falling into that
Medicaid gap or not qualifying
for that subsidy, we weren’t ex-
pecting a big rush of people,”
Reed said. And yet, “I would
have hoped for more. I would
have really hoped for more.”
Few gun show attendees
in favor of alcohol sales
CHURCff
By Juan A. Lozano
Associated Press
HOUSTON — A proposal to
allow alcohol sales at guns
shows in Texas got a mostly un-
favorable reaction at a gun show
in Houston on Saturday, with
some in attendance calling it a
bad idea.
The Texas Alcoholic Bever-
age Commission on Friday an-
nounced it is considering the
proposal, provided that at such
events live ammunition isn’t al-
lowed or buyers can’t take pos-
session of their weapons.
Bill Clouse, one of several
hundred people who attended
the High Caliber Gun & Knife
Show in Houston, described
himself as a “huge gun support-
er” but said he doesn’t believe
guns and alcohol are a good
combination.
“I don’t think there will be a
possibility for trouble. I just per-
sonally do not believe you
should have alcohol and fire-
arms in the same vicinity,
whether you are hunting or at a
gun show,” said Clouse, 34, a
high school teacher.
Josh Jensen, another person
at Saturday’s gun show, was also
against the proposal, saying the
idea is “just silly to me.”
“You will find people in here
who are going to say, ‘Oh yeah,
that’s a great idea. Why can’t we
have a beer at the gun show?
Nobody’s got a loaded gun.’ But
stupid things happen. It’s just
like drinking and driving. Are
you going to drink and drive?”
said Jensen, 30, who works for a
beer distributor.
Under current rules, if a gun
show is held at a venue licensed
to sell alcohol, drinks sales and
consumption are suspended
during the time it takes to set up,
conduct and dismantle the gun
show.
The commission is consider-
ing the proposal after getting a
request from a Dallas-Fort
Worth area gun club to change
its rules. It will hold a 30-day
public comment period before
any change is made.
The Texas State Rifle Associ-
ation, the state affiliate of the
National Rifle Association, says
it is still reviewing the proposal.
*5/
1
Harry Dean Bell
A special thank you from the
family of Harry D. Bell. We
would like to thank you for
all who showed thoughtfulness
during his time of illness.
A special thank you for the
following people: Denton
Regional, Presbyterian Hos-
pital, St. Emmanuel Mission-
ary Baptist Church, Pleasant
Grove Baptist Church, Altus
Hospice, Cottonwood Nursing
Facility, nurses and doctors, and
a host of family and friends.
Your kindness will be forever
appreciated. Those memories
will forever be in our hearts.
You took out time in your
busy schedule to show us you
cared.
The Bell Family
7 just personally do not believe you should
have alcohol and firearms in the same
vicinity, whether you are hunting or at a
gun show."
— Bill Clouse, a high school teacher
9 LED BY ADULT 55*\
nRSTDENTON.ORG/REVIVAL
Crystal Hartt, 47, a ranch
owner from the Port Lavaca area
who was at the Houston gun
show, supported the idea, add-
ing she considered being able to
buy alcohol at a gun show the
same as buying a beer at a base-
ball game or a rock concert.
“It’s another event. Why not
sell a margarita to go with it?”
she said.
Claire Elizabeth, a spokes-
woman for the Texas chapter of
Moms Demand Action for Gun
Sense in America, said Saturday
her organization did not know
enough about the proposal to
comment on its specifics.
“What we do know is that
guns and alcohol don’t mix,” she
said in an email.
William light, who was at
Saturday’s gun show, said the
proposed rules on not being able
to take possession of weapons or
ammunition if alcohol is sold at
guns shows would also make the
idea unpopular with many who
attend such events.
“Everybody is like us here,
they come to buy, sell and trade,”
said light, 52, who is from the
Bryan-College Station area.
If they couldn’t do that, he
said, that would “make it too
much of a hassle.”
AUGUST 10 • G PH
Dessert and Coffee will
be served on Sunday at 5:30 pm
1? PH
Lunch will be served
Mon - Wed at 11:30 am for $4
•featuring*,
I. £ f
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electrics/electronics, cosmetics/fragrances, athletic shoes for him, her & kids, Dallas Cowboys merchandise, gift
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Parks, Scott K. Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 8, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 10, 2014, newspaper, August 10, 2014; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1124719/m1/3/: accessed June 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .