Sen. Cruz Comments on Biden Administration Decision to Reinstate Texas Medicaid Waiver

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) weighed in on the Biden administration’s decision to reinstate Texas’ 1115 Medicaid waiver that had been issued by the Trump administration to ensure federal regulations did not interfere with the ability of health providers in the Lone Star State to provide care to vulnerable Texans enrolled in Medicaid. The Biden administration had rescinded this critically important ten-year waiver, jeopardizing the healthcare of Texans – including one in three disabled Texans and the two out of every five Texas children who rely on Medicaid for healthcare.

“By rescinding our Medicaid waiver, the Biden administration had needlessly threatened the healthcare of many vulnerable Texans. While it’s good to see this action today, our waiver never should have been rescinded in the first place. Having our waiver restored is a big win for Texas and I am proud to have fought hard to ensure this day would come. At the end of the day, the state of Texas knows its own healthcare needs better than the federal government, and this decision puts those needs first.”

Sen. Cruz previously led a bicameral letter from members of the Texas delegation to the Biden administration calling for the Department of Health and Human Services to approve Texas’ Medicaid 1115 waiver. In April 2021, Sen. Cruz also sent a letter to HHS regarding CMS’ rescission of Texas’ 1115 waiver. Senator Cruz also used his prerogatives as a Senator to withhold consent from the consideration of a CMS nominee to give Texas maximum leverage in its fight to get the waiver restored.

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