Want health coverage? Not in his Texas.
President Obama visited Texas Wednesday, to
push Republican governors to take the Medicaid expansion offered under Obamacare. Texas, with the largest percentage of uninsured people among the states, should be a receptive state for this message. And chances are the population of Texas is. The state government is emphatically not. So, to greet Obama, Attorney General Greg Abbott
suggested that Texas is going to make signing up for Obamacare even more difficult for those people who do qualify.
AUSTIN — Attorney General Greg Abbott hinted strongly Tuesday that Texas may impose additional training and background checks on “navigators” hired under federal grants to help people sign up for insurance through the Affordable Care Act.
A day before President Barack Obama was to meet with navigators in Dallas, Abbott said his office and the state Department of Insurance have found weaknesses in federal rules.
The flaws could allow criminals to obtain Texans’ personal financial and health information through navigator sloppiness, Abbott warned. Crooks themselves could become navigators, he said.
In case you're wondering, it's all so much hooey. Community organizations who have taken on the navigator role have been working with federal funding for years to help people access other social service programs. And have never been crooks. This isn't about privacy concerns. This isn't about protecting Texans. It's about trying to kill Obamacare. That means it's about denying health coverage to millions of Texans who are newly eligible for it.
It's sabotage. Nothing else.