 Cook Children's Sounding the Alarm
On Friday, May 9, 2025, Cook Children's sent the following Media Statement from Cook Children's Health Care System: (Fort Worth, Texas – May 9, 2025)—Cook Children's expresses profound concern Today over a looming crisis that threatens health care access for Texas' most vulnerable children. A staggering 1.8 million children and expectant mothers statewide, including 125,000 within Cook Children’s Health Plan’s Tarrant County service area, face potential disruptions in their health coverage due to the current situation. This precarious situation will have devastating consequences for 10,000 children with complex medical conditions, including 170 relying on ventilators and 1,700 who use wheelchairs. Beyond the direct impact on these children and their families, the repercussions extend to our community's economic stability, potentially costing 400 jobs in Tarrant County and up to 2,000 jobs across the state within Texas-based children’s health plans if this issue is not resolved. Despite hopeful signs earlier this session, with bill language from Representative Charlie Geren and Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa making its way to the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, recent legislative inaction suggests a willingness not to address this critical matter during the current legislative session as intended by the courts. This is an urgent situation demanding immediate attention. June 2, 2025, is the critical deadline. To read the statement in its entirety, please click here. For an informative PDF that explains the issue in detail, please click here. |
 Fact Sheet: Millions of Texans at Risk of Losing Health Insurance
On June 2, 2025, the clock will run out on the Texas Legislature to prevent the largest Medicaid upheaval in state history, an upheaval that could cost Texans nearly 2,000 jobs and millions in tax dollars. Without immediate legislative action, at-risk families may lose access to pediatric specialists, potentially leading to the loss of hundreds of local jobs. Furthermore, taxpayers might bear the burden of increased ER overcrowding and higher uncompensated care costs resulting from coverage gaps due to this disruption. Please click here for this helpful Fact Sheet about the situation. |
 Becker's Hospital Review - ‘We Take Our Direction from Our Community’: Texas Health System Battles to Preserve its Medicaid Plan
In 2024, the Texas Health & Human Services Commission (HHSC) denied contract renewals to several Medicaid providers, including three non‑profit, Texas‑based children's hospital plans: Cook Children's Health Plan, Texas Children's Health Plan and Driscoll Children's Health Plan. Despite their combined 60-plus years of proven, high‑quality care, HHSC awarded the multi‑billion‑dollar Medicaid STAR/CHIP contracts to several publicly traded insurers beholden to out‑of‑state shareholders. Cook Children's Health Plan President Karen Love spoke with Becker's Hospital Review to provide an update on the situation and an explanation of the impact this decision would have on the state of Texas and children's access to non-profit health care coverage. “We take our direction from our community,” Love told Becker’s. “Provider-affiliated plans like ours, where you have the hospital and the doctors and the payer all working together for the benefit of these children, is a different model of care and a different model of coverage than the large national for-profit companies.” Read the article here. |
Famed Actor Barry Corbin Speaks Out in Support of Cook Children’s Health Plan
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