Report calls for 3% tax on TX hospitals

A three percent tax on Texas hospitals would generate $3 billion a year that could help improve access to healthcare for Texans without health insurance, according to a new report out this week from the James Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. The state has one of the highest rates of uninsured citizens, with about 25 percent lacking coverage. The report, titled "Code Red: The Critical Condition of the Health of Texas," concludes that the state could benefit from more extensive implementation of electronic medical records. The reaction from local hospital officials to the tax aspect of the report was muted, to put it mildly. "It's not something hospitals are real keen on," said Amanda Engler, spokeswoman for the Texas Hospital Association. "There would have to be a lot of trust to ensure that the money went back to hospitals to fund the Medicaid program."

- see this article from the Houston Chronicle

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