The Collin County Observer

In 2007, the Texas legislature passed HB 3154. Written by Rep. Jodi Laubenberg of Parker, HB 3154 called for the creation of a "Review Committee" or task force to, "to conduct public hearings regarding, and to study the implications of, implementing regional health care service to address indigent health care in the region.".

The committee was charged specifically to:

• "(1) examine whether a regional system to provide indigent health care should be offered throughout the region;
• (2) examine whether there should be a mechanism for additional counties to participate in the regional health care system;
• (3) perform a review of funding and financing options, including a review of funding indigent health care in the region."

In simple English - many counties, including Collin, are deathly afraid that public hospitals, such as Parkland will try to expand and regionalize their reach into suburbia. Yet simply because of where they live, thousands of Texans are denied decent health care due to lack of access to these public hospitals. The committee was to bring together institutional stakeholders to discuss and propose solutions.

From the beginning, HB 3154 was criticized because while its membership included all State Representatives, all County Commissioners and all Hospital CEOs in 19 county North Texas Health Region 3, only 2 of its members represented public hospitals. There were no representatives from the charitable clinics, nor from the public itself. The committee was a stacked deck in favor of the status quo.

Laubenberg's bill required that, "The initial meeting of the committee must take place before September 30, 2007. At the initial meeting the committee shall:

• (1) adopt rules governing the committee; and
• (2) establish a work plan and schedule for future meetings."

With much media attention the committee did hold its first meeting at UTD on September 20, 2007. I was there, so was the media.

The conversations were interesting and diverse opinions were heard, but no conclusions reached. Rather, the tone of the discussions seemed to be more in the nature of opening statements. I'm sure everyone present believed there would be more meetings - just as the law required.

While there was discussion among the members of the committee, the public was not permitted to speak. I wrote Ms. Laubenberg after the meeting:

Rep. Laubenberg's response was terse:

Since I had asked to be informed of future meetings, and since I knew that the committee report was due by September 1, 2008, I recently asked Suzanne Bowers, the Chief of Staff for Ms. Laubenberg why I had not received notice of any other meetings. "There were no other meetings", she told me, "but the committee was working hard on getting the report done by the deadline".

Wow!

Laubenberg's bill calls for the committee to:
"issue a report on indigent health care that summarizes:

• (1) hearings conducted by the committee;
• (2) studies conducted by the committee;
• (3) any legislation proposed by the committee; and
• (4) any other findings or recommendations of the committee."

It will be interesting to see what a committee that only met once, and never held hearings will write in the report since:

• The Committee never held hearings.
• They never conducted studies.
• They never proposed legislation.
• They never proposed recommendations.

The committee existed only to obfuscate the real issue of access to public hospitals that beg for real answers. This is old fashioned "Good ol' boy politics" at its worst.

So I ask, Who is writing this report? There's nothing to write unless Laubenberg's staff simply writes her opinion.

It is becoming obvious that this committee existed only to further the agenda of those who do not want indigent health care to be debated in the public forum.

Any report issued in the name of this committee must be presumed discredited. The committee was a sham, and because of that, any real discussion on the need to improve the indigent health care system has been stifled.

In an editorial today, the Dallas Morning News noted that Speaker Tom Craddick just appointed Rep. Laubenberg chair of the House Public Health Committee. Her actions in throttling the North Texas review committee does not bode well for the plight of the millions of indigent and uninsured in Texas.

The fox is in charge of the hen house.

Bill

Notes:

Apres Delisi, le deluge - Bukablog, Texas Monthly August 10, 2008

Editorial: Laubenberg's new assignment - The Dallas Morning News Aug. 10, 2008

Laubenberg: Citizen input not allowed - CCO Sept. 27, 2007

Regional Healthcare & HB 3154 - CCO Sept. 5, 2007 (also published in the Dallas Morning News as A healthy discussion)

HB 3154 - Text of Enrolled bill

HB 3154 - Bill analysis State of Texas Senate Research Center May 16, 2007