1-1     By:  Lucio                                            S.C.R. No. 75
 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed March 4, 1999; May 5, 1999, read first
 1-3     time and referred to Special Committee on Border Affairs;
 1-4     May 13, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 6,
 1-5     Nays 0; May 13, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-6                        SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-7           WHEREAS, The Lower Rio Grande Valley is an area of Texas
 1-8     vital  to the economic success and well-being of the state; and
 1-9           WHEREAS, The area faces a variety of challenges, one of which
1-10     is a significant demand for indigent health care; this need is
1-11     complicated by transportation issues and other difficulties
1-12     affecting patient access to health care services; and
1-13           WHEREAS, The State of Texas operates the South Texas Hospital
1-14     in the city of Harlingen, and this institution provides critically
1-15     needed health care services to indigent patients in the Lower Rio
1-16     Grande Valley; and
1-17           WHEREAS, State funds used to provide indigent health care
1-18     services at the South Texas Hospital have been used to obtain
1-19     matching federal funds through the Medicaid disproportionate share
1-20     hospital program and their use has increased the resources
1-21     available to provide health care services to indigent patients
1-22     throughout Texas; and
1-23           WHEREAS, The South Texas Hospital's physical facilities are
1-24     in need of major renovation, and there are other hospitals in the
1-25     Lower Rio Grande Valley that can provide inpatient services needed
1-26     by the indigent population of the region; and
1-27           WHEREAS, The mission of the South Texas Hospital and the
1-28     public good will best be served by contracting with public and
1-29     private hospitals in the Lower Rio Grande Valley so that they may
1-30     provide inpatient services to the indigent population; and
1-31           WHEREAS, If the state intends to continue its commitment to
1-32     provide needed health services to the people of the Lower Rio
1-33     Grande Valley, then the Texas Legislature must encourage the
1-34     federal government to continue matching state funds used to provide
1-35     eligible inpatient services and to participate in innovative
1-36     approaches that maximize local, state, and federal resources to
1-37     address the pressing need for indigent health services in Texas;
1-38     now, therefore, be it
1-39           RESOLVED, That the 76th Legislature of the State of Texas
1-40     hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to
1-41     qualify the contributions made by the State of Texas for eligible
1-42     inpatient hospital services provided by contract in the Lower Rio
1-43     Grande Valley for federal matching funds under the Medicaid
1-44     disproportionate share hospital program; and, be it further
1-45           RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
1-46     copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
1-47     the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of
1-48     the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of
1-49     the Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this
1-50     resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a
1-51     memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.
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