The Texas Public Policy Foundation released findings from a recent study which shows how the health care reforms pending in Congress would affect Texas. The study, conducted by Arduin, Laffer, and Moore Econometrics, explains how the Obama-Reid-Pelosi health care reform bill would hamper the Texas economy. Findings include:

• Texas would see 4.7 percent lower economic growth in 2019 compared to the baseline scenario.

• In addition to federally-funded expenditures, the net present value of all Texas state government expenditures through 2019 that will occur due to federal health care reform is $8.9 billion, or a $365 bill for every man, woman, and child in Texas.

• If the federal government requires states to financially cover the expansion of lower income individual’s health insurance, Texas taxpayers will have to cover an additional $28.2 billion in costs, for a total cost to Texas general revenue of $37.1 billion over 10 years.

 

• The current net present value of funding health care reform based on President Obama’s priorities will be $4,265 for every person in Texas. This equals $103.8 billion in total costs that Texans will have to bear.

 

•  Expansion of Medicaid eligibility may further increase Medicaid costs in Texas due to the Frew v. Hawkins lawsuit, a suit based on inadequate access for Medicaid enrollees because the state’s physician reimbursement was so low that not enough doctors would take Medicaid patients.