Lead­ers of Five Major Texas Health Sys­tem Applaud Gov­er­nor Abbott, Lieu­tenant Gov­er­nor Patrick, Attor­ney Gen­er­al Pax­ton for Lead­er­ship in With­draw­ing Med­ic­aid Fis­cal Account­abil­i­ty Regulation

September 17, 2020

Dear Governor Abbott, Governor Patrick and General Paxton:

On behalf of the five major health systems in Texas listed below, we want to thank you for your work with the Administration to protect the state’s health care safety net from the disastrous effects of the Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Rule (MFAR). Throughout the pendency of the rule, and in the face of the public health crisis posed by COVID-19, you and your staff have displayed incredible partnership with the Texas hospital safety net community. We genuinely appreciate this opportunity to share our perspective on the potential impact of MFAR on state and local budgets and on our ability to continue to serve Medicaid and uninsured patients.

We are extremely grateful for the steps you have taken to expose the consequences of this ill-timed and overreaching proposed rule to the President and to Officials in his Administration. It is clear that without your leadership and your advocacy, Texas might still be staring down the catastrophic consequences of MFAR.
Your continued efforts to protect and promote the provision of quality health care in our state are commendable and we thank you for bringing an end to this battle with CMS over MFAR. Your good work on this issue not only benefits Texas, but the rest of the country as well.

Respectfully,

James H. Hinton
Chief Executive Officer
Baylor Scott & White Health

Jon M. Foster, FACHE
President
HCA Healthcare

David L. Callender, MD
President & CEO
Memorial Hermann Health System

Matt Stone
Texas Group CEO

Tenet Healthcare

Barclay E. Berdan, FACHE
Chief Executive Officer

Texas Health Resources

Read a copy of the letter here.