UPDATE (7/9/2012 – 10:48 a.m.): Gov. Perry announced this morning that his administration will oppose Texas participation in the Medicaid expansion provision of the Affordable Care Act, as well as the creation of a state health insurance exchange. From the Perry statement: “"Neither a 'state' exchange nor the expansion of Medicaid under this program would result in better 'patient protection' or in more 'affordable care.' They would only make Texas a mere appendage of the federal government when it comes to health care."

AUSTIN, Texas - Stunned by the Supreme Court's recent decision to uphold President Obama's health-care overhaul, conservatives found some comfort in one part of the ruling. The Court rejected a provision that would have forced states to expand their Medicaid rolls with the help of federal dollars. The money will still be available, but optional.

Political scientists have described it as a states'-rights victory. However, lawmakers in Texas and other red states may be doing just as much squirming as celebrating, according to University of Texas-Austin government professor Bruce Buchanan.

"If they're having second thoughts, it's understandable, because it is an extremely advantageous package that the federal government is offering the states, with three years of 100-percent coverage."

Texas would leave big bucks on the table if it rejects the Medicaid expansion - probably more than $150 billion over the first decade. Starting in 2017, the state would be responsible for up to 10 percent of the new costs. Critics say that's 10 percent too much. However, rejecting the expansion would leave 1.5 million low-income Texans meant to benefit from the provision with no health coverage.

Buchanan, whose specialty is American politics, predicts that sooner or later most conservative governors and legislatures will set politics aside and choose to fully participate in the Affordable Care Act.

"They're still smarting from a completely unexpected Supreme Court decision. It's going to take a little time. Folks will have to go through the grieving process before they can come to terms with what makes the most sense for their states."

He says a just-released government report card ranking Texas worst in the nation in health-care quality makes it that much harder for politicians to justify turning down the Medicaid funds. The state also has the highest rate of uninsured residents, with 6.5 million people lacking coverage.

While decrying "Obamacare" as fiscally unsustainable, Gov. Perry and fellow Republicans have stopped short of declaring they will fight the Medicaid expansion. A Perry spokesman says Texas will not "fast track" participation. Buchanan thinks, ultimately, practicality will trump popular red-state political philosophies.

"There's resentment at federal control: If you take federal money, you have to cleave to federal guidelines. Texas is famous for having resented those kinds of things, which is partly rooted in the ideology of states' rights."

The legislature may take up the Medicaid expansion issue in January. Meanwhile, Texas leaders face another predicament: whether to set up the state's new insurance exchange or refuse to participate - thereby handing control to the feds.




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Today, groups working with lower-income families in Connecticut are raising awareness about the state's "benefits cliff" with a day of action.

The benefits cliff is when a person might get a raise, have a kid with a part-time job, or some other income increase which then makes them ineligible for certain benefits. The changes can have severe impacts on communities and disproportionately affect families with children.

Stephen Monroe Tomczak, professor of social work at Southern Connecticut State University, said it is part of a larger workforce problem.

"People, particularly people of low income, are in a sense disincentivized to participate in the labor force and denied adequate jobs and income when they try to do that," Tomczak explained.

Several General Assembly budget bills could have dealt with the issue but most failed, which inspired today's action, a mock funeral procession to the governor's office to eulogize the bills, including the refundable Child Tax Credit, a housing voucher funding boost bill, and a bill eliminating the asset limit on the HUSKY C medical insurance program.

Social service advocates know the bills will resurface in next year's budget process.

Rose Ferraro, program lead of health justice policy advocacy for the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, said people are taking alternate steps like going to food banks or avoiding medical care to cover lost benefits.

"Folks will lose their rental assistance and then, they will sort of have to make some tough decisions," Ferraro noted. "'Do I put food on my table or do I make sure to pay rent?' And, so it becomes a sort of untenable position."

Ferraro added interwoven state and federal funding makes it hard to reach the core of the issues leading to benefits cliffs. One eulogized bill would have established a benefits cliff pilot program. For two years, it would have provided subsistence for people who've reached the benefits cliff.

New York towns are reaping many benefits since the Inflation Reduction Act was passed.

Along with funds for larger clean energy projects, the state was awarded $158 million for the IRA's Home Energy Rebates program.

Smaller towns and villages use these grants to implement their climate action plans.

Brighton Town Councilmember Robin Wilt said an IRA grant they applied for will help upgrade the town's HVAC system.

"We will be implementing geothermal and then use a solar array to make the system close to net zero, not quite," said Wilt. "I think we'll get 55% of our energy back with the solar panels."

The bureaucratic process to access the funding was challenging, but some groups are working with the Department of Energy to improve it.

Wilt said feedback on the clean energy projects has been positive. Future projects using IRA funding include increasing walkability and sustainable redevelopment.

Critics have said the IRA includes multiple provisions to increase fossil fuel production.

Towns nationwide are using IRA grants to bolster clean energy projects.

Joel Hicks is a council member for the Borough of Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

They've just applied for a grant to work on energy efficiency and solar projects with Harrisburg. He said this will have positive impacts beyond establishing clean energy.

"We were really excited at this potential," said Hicks, "because we saw that the cost savings we would have for putting in substantial solar projects on our public property would actually fund many of our other public municipal goals."

These include purchasing an electric vehicle fleet and having more efficient solid waste programs.

One thing Hicks said he wants to see in future is state and local governments helping small towns and municipalities with putting together their IRA grant proposals.

A new report analyzes Pennsylvania's existing voucher programs, that divert public funds to private schools.

This comes on the heels of Gov. Josh Shapiro's plan to create a new voucher program for K-12 students.

Diana Polson - senior policy analyst with the Keystone Research Center - said last year's Commonwealth Court decision ruled that Pennsylvania's system of funding public education is unconstitutional, therefore the state doesn't have a dollar to waste on expanding existing private-school voucher programs or creating a new one.

"The basic-education funding commission estimated the state must pay $5.1 billion over the next seven years to make sure our public schools are funded equitably and adequately," said Polson. "Meanwhile, our report finds that existing private-school voucher programs are siphoning millions from taxpayers with little to show for it."

Supporters argue that vouchers let children leave under-performing public schools and get a better education at private schools.

Polson said Pennsylvania's voucher programs have no "meaningful educational or financial accountability," so they really have no way of knowing if these programs operate as intended or are beneficial to low-income or moderate-income students.

Polson said the report reveals that the programs have grown, and just this year they will cost the state nearly $500 million.

However, these voucher programs exclude students in rural areas, because there are few if any participating private schools in these regions.

Local public schools remain the primary option for most rural families.

"We also found that private schools receiving these funds are allowed to - and do - routinely discriminate against students for reasons including disabilities, sexual orientation, religious beliefs and more," said Polson. "These programs are also exclusive. They subsidize the state's most elite and expensive private schools as well as affluent families."

Polson said the report reveals that the Independent Fiscal Office estimated that the average EITC program scholarship was $2,314, while the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit was slightly less at around $2,000.

The cost of attending one of the top 25 private schools in Pennsylvania is around $41,000 per year. This means these schools are still out of reach for many low- and moderate-income families.