State Representative John Davis of Clear Lake has changed his tune on the CHIPS program even after stating in a debate prior to the 2006 elections that cuts to the program were valid and defended the privatization of the program when everyone else was calling for it to end.
John Davis is a key part of that Republican leadership on CHIP. He is the chairman of budget and oversight on the Human Services Committee which oversees CHIP. In July of this year, Davis wrote a letter to the state commissioner of Health and Human Services that was signed by 29 other House Republican members praising Accenture, which adminsters CHIP, and has been widely criticized for its inefficiencies. Davis has also gone on record praising Martha Wong for supporting the CHIP's assets tests and the Accenture contract.But in his interview with the Houston Chronicle to gain their endorsement he changed his tune quite a bit:
While Davis at first defended cuts in the Children's Health Insurance Program and the hiring of a private company to determine eligibility for state health services, he subsequently worked to restore full services to CHIP. Davis also acknowledges that the private company has underperformed, is liable for financial penalties and must swiftly correct its shortcomings.There is only a few problems with Davis taking the high road on this. 1) He caused the problem in the first place and now wants to look like the hero. 2) Rick Perry and Dewhurst are not sold on the bill. 3) Davis is not exactly an influential Representative and without support from real child advocates like Representative Garnett Coleman, he has little chance of moving this bill. and finally, in 2008 he will be challenged again, this time with a well funded and well greased campaign.
At the very least, Davis has realized that his privatization scheme was a complete failure and is attempting to correct what he did. At the end of the session, it will be determined if he succeeded.
0 comments:
Post a Comment