By Alexis Yancey, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-920166.mp3
Dallas, TX – A cross country petition drive stopped in Fort Worth today with a message for Governor Rick Perry. Driving for Quality Care wants the governor to apply for 858-million dollars in emergency federal Medicaid funds. The president of the Texas Healthcare Association, Tim Graves, says the money is needed because the state faces a cut.
Tim Graves: In Texas we have a funding cut in the Medicaid program that we're facing next week. It's a 1 % rate cut. Doesn't sound like much, that's 25.6 Million dollars. The point is that the folks who live in this nursing home, in the nursing homes across Texas and across the nation. When they were younger they were there for us. It's time for us to be there for them.
Governor Perry has until September 24 to apply for and accept the funds. Fort Worth was the 38th of 60 nationwide stops where the Driving for Quality Care R-V is taking its petition drive. It has collected three--thousand signatures so far. The petition will go to President Obama, Congress, Governors and local lawmakers.