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Children's Health Cuts
October 03, 2004
Joining Ron on the studio set for this edition of Valley NewsLine was Sylvia Sherman, representing the Texas State Employees Union (T.S.E.U.), and possibly one of the1,201 workers here in the tri-county (Cameron/Hidalgo/Starr) Valley area which are slated to lose their jobs due to the State's CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) cuts resulting from the 2003 session's House Bill 2292. Scheduled to take effect September 01, 2004, most of the employees are still awaiting word on who is let go and whose health care coverage is dropped. Of the 147,000 shildren and pregnant women losing their health coverage in Texas due to the State's cuts, the Rio Grande Valley has 57,000 of them (38% of all of Texas!), and most of those affected by the cuts are allowing their health to suffer and deteriorate in order to qualify for emergency care coverage, which seems to be most people's only option for health care without the CHIP's preemptive health care coverage.
Aired during this show were bipartisan calls for a special session to restore these health cuts from Texas State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn (Republican), U.S. Senator for Texas Kay Bailey Hutchison (Republican), Texas State Representative Joaquin Castro (Democrat), and Texas State Representative Norma Chavez (Democrat).
For more information, please see our archive: Children's Health Insurance Problem!
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