Date: 2007-07-10
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of this legislation that provides a 3month extension to the transitional medical assistance program under Medicaid. TMA provides vital support for lowincome American families moving off welfare and into work. Under the TMA program. families whose earnings would otherwise make them ineligible for Medicaid can receive up to 12 months of Medicaid coverage. Without TMA. * many families transitioning from welfare to work would go without health insurance and could end up back on welfare. Families leaving welfare often encounter difficulties such as securing health insurance . because they have taken lowwage jobs that do not offer employersponsored health .coverage. In some cases this choice could serve as a deterrent to returning to work. and we want to provide folks with as many incentives as possible to return to work. According to the Congressional Research Service. 79 percent of people with incomes of at least 200 percent of the Federal poverty level benefit from employersponsored health insurance. yet only 19 percent of workingage individuals with incomes below the poverty line receive health care coverage through employment. These are folks who earn $10.210 or less a year. If they cant get coverage through their employer. it is essentially costprohibitive for them to purchase health insurance. No one should be made to choose between a. job and health insurance. Thanks to TMA. many Americans are spared this tough choice and allowed to move off welfare and into a job while maintaining their health coverage. Without TMA. many of our most vulnerable Americans would -be unable to access the health coverage they need. In my State of Texas. TMA helps provide more than 111.000 people each month continued treatment for ongoing health care needs. A gap in care. would be particularly problematic for the one out of four mothers in the program who are in poor or fair health yet transitioning from welfare to work. The extensions of the program is critical to their continued access to necessary health care. Again in Texas. TMA also reimburses medical providers for- more than $300 million in annual expenses for acute medical care. prescription drugs. and other approved Medicaid services. Without TMA. these costs for medically necessary services would be shifted to local governments or charitable organizations. or worse. the client may not receive needed care at all. Mr. Speaker. TMA enjoys wideranging bipartisan support. The National Governors Association strongly supports TMA and its extension. According to the National Governors Association. "without access to regular health care. health problems of a new worker or the workers family members are likely to lead to greater absenteeism and possibly job loss." TMA is also supported by the National Conference of State Legislatures. the American Public Health Association. and the National Association of State Medicaid Directors. The administration also supports this vital program as evidenced by the fact that the President included a 1year extension of TMA in his fiscal year 2008 budget proposal. -Mr. Speaker. in the past Congress has always acted in bipartisan fashion to extend TMA in combination with an equal extension of Federal abstinence education programs. While there is no shortage of debate or opinion on the merits of abstinence education programs. I hope my. colleagues will join me in supporting this approach. at least for the short term. so we can ensure that hardworking American families dont lose their health care under the transitional medical assistance program. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.