As Tarrant County lawmakers prepare to kick off the Texas legislative session Jan. 14, Fort Worth Report journalists are exploring the policies set to be reshaped in Austin. Click here for more legislative coverage.
As vice president of government relations at JPS Health Network, Ashlea Quinonez knows she has a responsibility to build relationships with Texas legislators.
By doing so, she’s able to advocate for the Tarrant County hospital district and its needs.
“I want them to know about JPS. I want them to know the incredible role we have in serving their community,” she previously told the Report.
In the coming weeks, she and other Tarrant County health system representatives will focus their efforts on Austin as Texas lawmakers convene for the 89th legislative session, which will run from Jan. 14 to June 2.
Stephen Love, president and CEO of the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council, said North Texas hospitals will work with state lawmakers in a “bipartisan way to address health care delivery and do everything we can to improve the delivery system and outcomes for patients.”
The Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council is made up of 90 North Texas hospitals that unite to advance health care in the region.
Medical City Fort Worth declined to comment on the hospital’s legislative priorities. A spokesperson with UT Southwestern Medical Center said the state agency doesn’t comment or take positions on legislative issues. Baylor Scott & White Health did not respond to the Report’s request for comment by publication time.
JPS plans to work with lawmakers in hopes of advancing investments into health care workforce programs. This includes supporting programs that grow the workforce pipeline, policies that enhance workforce safety and retention, and additional funding for health professional education and training.
During the most recent legislative session in 2023, state lawmakers unanimously approved the passage of Senate Bill 25 to create new scholarships for nursing students. JPS is hoping to see further investment to support that program, Quinonez said.
“Last session, the state passed the bill, but they didn’t appropriate any money to the bill. We will be going back this session knowing they are supportive of the different grant programs that have been proposed,” she told the JPS board of managers during a Nov. 14 meeting.
The hospital district will also advocate for stronger support for behavioral health services. That includes an increase in the Medicaid reimbursement rate for services, support for outpatient programs, and continued investment in mental health workforce and telehealth.
The Tarrant County Commissioners Court recently passed a resolution calling on lawmakers to establish and fund a new state psychiatric hospital in the county to “fill a critical gap.” The county’s previous proposal failed in the 2023 legislative session, according to KERA News.
Tarrant County is the largest county in the state without a mental health facility.
“There has been a lot of investment at the state level the last four to six years on behavioral health programs of all kinds, but we have a lot of work left to do,” Quinonez said.
JPS officials are also seeking to maintain stable, equitable hospital funding that preserves general revenue and upholds its trauma center. The hospital district operates one of two Level 1 trauma centers in Tarrant County.
“All of these priorities fall in line with our network-wide priorities of access, financial stability and workforce,” Quinonez said.
David Tesmer, chief community and public policy officer for Texas Health Resources, echoed JPS priorities, adding there is a need for more insured Texans through Medicaid and other coverage expansion.
Roughly 18.2% of Tarrant County’s population is uninsured. Texas reported more residents without health insurance than any other state in 2022, the most recent year for which data is available.
“We need to find ways to increase the number of Texans with affordable and comprehensive health insurance,” Tesmer said. “We’re not just talking about the health and welfare of individuals, but you’re also talking about impacting the economic vitality of Texas.”
Cook Children’s, the Fort Worth-based pediatric health care system, plans to continue to advocate for the health and well-being of children and families in North Texas.
Kim Brown, spokesperson for Cook Children’s, said the pediatric health system’s primary focus remains ensuring that “families have the freedom to choose a local, community-based nonprofit like Cook Children’s Health Plan for their health care coverage.”
Since March, Cook Children’s has been in a fight with Texas Health and Human Services over the future of its health care plan, which offers coverage to more than 125,000 families in the Tarrant County area.
The state agency’s $116 billion Medicaid contract proposal would drop the Cook Children’s Health Plan, alongside the Driscoll Health Plan in South Texas and the Texas Children’s Health Plan in the Houston area, from Medicaid STAR and CHIP plans starting in September 2025.
Following a lawsuit and temporary restraining order, officials with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission agreed to delay signing new Medicaid contracts until June 2025, giving state lawmakers the opportunity to weigh in on the proposal during the legislative session.
Cook Children’s has previously celebrated the agreement by stating that the motion will allow for all parties to come together “to find a solution that best supports families and communities.” Officials have criticized the state’s selection process as “deeply flawed” for failing to give preference to health plans with successful track records and giving an unfair advantage to one of the winning bidders.
“We will work closely with legislators to support the correction of the procurement process for the Medicaid STAR and Children’s Health Insurance Program,” Brown said in a statement.
House Bill 197
House Bill 514
Senate Bill 626
For a more extensive list of health-related House and Senate bills that have been filed by state lawmakers, click here.
The Fort Worth Report’s Texas legislative coverage is supported by Kelly Hart. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
David Moreno is the health reporter for the Fort Worth Report. His position is supported by a grant from Texas Health Resources. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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