Medical care shouldn’t be cut to fill deficit holes
COMMENTARY
Jenna Spain

I have to admit that I am your typical college-aged financial management moron. I have had checking accounts in my name for four years — three of them, no less — and I never so much as attempted to balance any one of them until last month.

Why did I suddenly develop this habit? Well, it was due in part to the discovery of the calculator function on my cell phone, but I digress.

I am a news reader, part of my attempt to be an informed “adult,” and lately I have been wondering if most elected officials never had a financial epiphany like mine.

Other news followers know that Texas is facing a $9.9 billion deficit in this legislative session, a far cry from the surplus that brought us through the last legislative session with all kinds of new, beneficial programs like the Children’s Health Insurance Program, an initiative to ensure that children of low-income families have basic health coverage. The program was designed to supplement Medicaid, the federal insurance program for families and senior citizens in poverty. These programs cover 900,000 children in Texas, and the funding they receive from the federal government is dependent on the funds allocated to them by the state.

Now, I understand deficit spending. Believe me, I have suppressed many a shopping desire to ensure that my rent is paid. Despite my frivolous inclinations, I know that I will always have bills I have to cover.

Texas lawmakers should take a similar attitude toward its bills, and health care initiatives that affect children and senior citizens should be the highest priorities. The state is looking to make significant cuts to Medicaid and CHIP, potentially depriving as many as 60,000 children and a staggering number of seniors in North Texas of the health care they desperately need.

While many of us young, healthy, financially supported individuals may not be able to relate to these people, we still stand to be affected by the cuts.

Drastic changes made to state health care policy may cause employers to lower or cancel employee benefits. Alternately, insurance premiums may be raised in order to supplement lost funding. Higher premiums not only affect us, but also our families.

As distant as it may seem, especially to those not going into the job market soon, Medicaid, CHIP and changes to the state budget do affect us all, and if you are inclined to awaken your inner advocate, I recommend that you visit (www.childhealthtx.org). The Child’s Hospital Association of Texas has designed a program that identifies your congressional representative by ZIP code and offers sample letters voicing concern about changes to Medicaid and CHIP.

So take a few minutes to log on and send an e-mail. Remind the state of Texas that it still has bills to pay.

Jenna Spain is a senior political science major from Ooltewah, Tenn.