Texas Health and Human Services made a concerning decision recently. It announced its intent to award contracts in our area to four national, for-profit insurance companies through a questionable bidding process. Shockingly, it did not renew Cook Children’s Health Plan, despite our 20-year record of excellence serving our community. This disrupts a vital system, without any explanation or justification.
For over a century, Cook Children’s has been a pillar of our community. We’ve grown alongside generations of families, weaving a promise of exceptional health care into the very fabric of our city. That promise is clear: Every child, especially those most vulnerable, deserves the best possible care, delivered with both excellence and compassion.
Our strength lies in our integrated pediatric health care system, a model of efficiency that provides children and families with a seamless experience. From preventive care to emergency and specialty medicine, all the way to home health, our system offers everything a child might need. The Cook Children’s Health Plan, a vital component of our system, serves families enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP. This integrated design, admired by health care leaders across the nation, ensures smooth coordination between all our services, ultimately leading to the best possible outcomes for our young patients.
There is more reason to be concerned about Texas HHS’ decision. The Texas Tribune reported that the re-contracting process was deeply flawed, with Aetna receiving advance copies of proposals from 17 competitors, including ours, likely. This gave Aetna an unfair advantage and demands a swift correction from the state.
Beyond the procedural problems, the decision itself is devastating. It robs hundreds of millions of dollars from our communities, and places those checks in the pockets of out-of-state corporate shareholders. This isn’t just about paperwork; it jeopardizes the well-being of 125,000 children and mothers, including over 170 ventilator-dependent patients who rely on our seamless care. The impact goes far beyond Tarrant County — it affects 1.8 million children and expectant parents across the state, according to The Texas Tribune.
For more than two decades, Cook Children’s Health Plan has been a trusted and proven model for managing care. We urge the state to reverse its recent decision to ensure Cook Children’s Health Plan, along with other qualified plans, can continue seamlessly serving our communities and caring for our most vulnerable children and families.
Without the health plan, our ability to deliver exceptional care across the system will be crippled. Children relying on Medicaid would be disproportionately impacted, left vulnerable and more at risk.
I want to share a few facts and scenarios with you that might help paint this picture more clearly:
- In our service area alone, more than 75% of the children and mothers on Medicaid will be forced to switch plans, causing an unnecessary shift in care, and this is on the heels of the unwinding of the pandemic and the disruption these families have already experienced with re-enrolling in a health plan.
- Imagine the chaos this change will cause for the family of a child with complex medical needs on a ventilator and in a wheelchair — being forced to find new doctors, new in-home therapy and nursing, and a whole new system to navigate. If you’ve ever been frustrated trying to obtain a simple pre-authorization for a routine surgery, imagine that frustration tenfold.
- We are passionate about and uniquely equipped to serve our community. Every year, Cook Children’s provides more than $200 million in community benefits and uncompensated care to families in need.
- We reinvest our dollars back into countless programs like our Neighborhood Health Centers in underserved areas rather than for-profit shareholders. Our upcoming ninth center in the Las Vegas Trail area will be another beacon of hope for families struggling to access quality care when it opens next year.
This fight is for our children, for a system that works, for stability, and for the health of our community and the promise we have made to every child. We have the facts on our side, and we will not give up on the families who need us most. This is about protecting a legacy built on decades of trust and data-driven results.
Texas HHS, it’s not too late to do the right thing. Let Cook Children’s Health Plan continue to coordinate and manage the care for the children and families who depend on us.
The health and well-being of our children depends on a proven and trusted system, not a gamble on the unknown.
Rick W. Merrill serves as president and CEO of Cook Children’s Health Care System.
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