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Join PTFK in standing up for the medically fragile by urging your legislator to take action by passing immediate patient protections, improving Medicaid provider rates, and implementing an alternative, more appropriate model of care for Texans with disabilities and complex medical needs.
Right now the Waitlist Reduction Initiative (SB 2143) is held up in the Senate Health & Human Services Committee and risks not passing because they have yet to schedule a time to vote on it. We are calling on all of our supporters to reach out and urge the Senate Health & Human Services Committee to stand up for TX Fragile Kids and take a vote on the Waitlist Reduction Initiative.
"Fragile Kids" are children with medical complexity that is defined as having multiple significant chronic health problems that affect multiple organ systems and result in functional limitations, high health care need or utilization, and often the need for or use of medical technology.
Since the STAR Kids program was established in 2016, children with medical complexity have been experiencing significant gaps in coverage, excessive waitlist times, limited providers, and issues accessing quality care, among other problems with STAR Kids, STAR+Plus, and Texas Medicaid.
Join PTFK in standing up for the medically fragile by urging your legislator to take action by passing immediate patient protections, improving Medicaid provider rates, and implementing an alternative, more appropriate model of care for Texans with disabilities and complex medical needs.
Children who are medically fragile live with rare conditions and complex disorders
The STAR Kids program has failed to provide effective care and support for families with medically complex children who are struggling to keep their families together and children out of institutions. The program's execution has been poor, marked by denials of critical life-sustaining care, significant gaps in care, inadequate networks, lengthy waiting lists to access care, ineffectual support services, regional county-based service areas limiting access to care, and exponential increase in administrative burden.
Overwhelmed families have been left trying to piece together a way to keep their child alive and stable . There is a clear need for better healthcare policies and programs that prioritize the needs of the most vulnerable members of society, such as medically complex children.
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The STAR Kids Program is a Texas Medicaid managed care program that applies to disabled children and young adults aged 20 or below who have certain qualifications and meet certain criteria. Participation in the STAR Kids program is required for those who are 20 or younger, covered by Medicaid, and meet at least one of the following:
Protect TX Fragile Kids (PTFK) is a grass-roots, non-profit organization (501c4) founded and run by parents of medically fragile Texas children.
