Leaders to Discuss Impact of Federal Legislation on Health Care

AUSTIN – Leaders from The University of Texas System administration and its six health institutions will conduct a roundtable discussion on the impact of recent legislation extending health insurance coverage to millions of Americans at a committee meeting during the next Board of Regents meeting at 1:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Aug. 11.

Presidents of each of the UT System’s six health institutions as well as the executive vice chancellor for health affairs, Dr. Kenneth I. Shine, will participate in the discussion along with the Regents on the Board’s Health Affairs Committee.

Under the recently passed legislation, Texas is expected to add up to 2 million people to the current Medicaid rolls. Projections indicate that the proportion of uninsured persons in Texas will decline from the current 25 percent to as little as 8 percent. While government funding for health insurance coverage will increase under the new legislation, Disproportionate Share Payments (DSH) and other supplemental funding for uninsured populations will be cut under Medicare and Medicaid beginning in 2014.

The new federal legislation presents opportunities and challenges for Texas and its overburdened health care system. The discussion will focus on how the legislation is expected to impact the UT institutions and what actions will be necessary to address critical issues such as health care delivery models, reimbursement models, and expanding the health care workforce.

Parking for the news media will be available at the guard kiosk on Colorado Street between 7th and 6th Streets. Out-of-town reporters are encouraged to watch the discussion via a live webcast.

About the University of Texas System Health Institutions

Within the UT System's six health institutions, there are four medical schools, two dental schools and three nursing schools, as well as schools of allied health science, biomedical sciences, health information sciences and public health. Through three teaching hospitals owned by UT System institutions and numerous affiliations with other teaching hospitals, as well as a network of community clinics, the health institutions are major providers of health care. UT System owned and affiliated hospitals and clinics have more than 5.2 million outpatients and the hospitals account for more than 1.45 million hospital days annually.