June 30 filing deadline is only 2 weeks away.

In July, Bill's campaign will file its semiannual financial report with the Texas Ethics Commission.

Please help us raise the money we need to defeat Jerry Hoagland in November. Jerry entered the race with over $40,000 in the bank, and he's been fund raising ever since. In order to mount a reasonable response, we MUST raise $10,000 in the month of June.

Now is the time to break the stranglehold the professional politicians have held us in for too long!

Now is the time to defeat "Boss" Hoagland, and send the unmistakable message that our voices will be heard!

Now is the time to open your checkbooks, We need $50, $100, $500 & $1,000 contributions to keep this fight for Collin County families effective.

Please give all you can.

Please help NOW!

Collin County clinics struggle for funding
Task force reports poor's medical needs not being met

01:05 PM CDT on Saturday, June 10, 2006
By ED HOUSEWRIGHT / The Dallas Morning News

... A report issued Friday recommends that Collin County commissioners more than triple their funding of nonprofit clinics that care for uninsured patients. The county currently provides about $200,000 in grants...

Commissioners had mixed reactions Friday to the 11-page report, which will be presented at a public hearing June 21. The task force will approve the report and present it to commissioners for action.

"I think they made some good recommendations," Commissioner Joe Jaynes said. "I think you'll see us take pretty prompt action on it."

Commissioner Jack Hatchell said he didn't think commissioners would adopt all of the recommendations. He said he needed to learn more about some of the suggestions, but he didn't think any were far off the mark. "I think it's reasonable," Mr. Hatchell said.

However, Commissioner Jerry Hoagland was less impressed. He said he may not support any additional funding for indigent health care.

"It's not a burning issue in my district," said Mr. Hoagland, who represents east Plano, Murphy and Wylie.

...In addition to direct spending, the county awarded $194,000 in grants this year to nine nonprofit clinics.

To qualify for care at the county-run clinic, a single patient can't earn more than $4,900 a year. That represents 50 percent of the federal poverty level.

...The task force report recommends that commissioners allocate half of 1 percent of the $150 million general fund budget for indigent health care. That money would flow into the trust fund for health-care services.

Some commissioners are reluctant to use property tax revenue, which supports the general fund, on indigent health care. Instead, some would rather use only the money in the trust fund....

Mr. Hoagland said he would like a referendum on the use of general fund money on indigent health care.

"I don't think the public would support it," he said.

He said he's upset that clinics that receive county grants do not require patients to be U.S. citizens. He would like that requirement to be a condition for receiving county funding.

By law, county-run clinics cannot treat illegal immigrants.

Mr. Hatchell and Mr. Jaynes said they didn't want to restrict private clinics from treating illegal immigrants.

"They're here," Mr. Jaynes said. "If we don't treat them, society as a whole is getting sicker."

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