Budget Fix: Kick Diabetics to the Street?

In a continuing effort to point out State Rep Jim Pitts' promise to "throw some people out on the street" (referring to poor, sick people) in order to fix the $25 billion Texas budget deficit that Republicans created, here's a suggestion: throw all diabetics out on the street. From the Texas Tribune:

The number of adult Texans with diabetes is expected to quadruple over the next three decades — a massive spike that demographers and health care experts attribute to the state’s aging population and out-of-control obesity epidemic.

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The numbers, while staggering, are only part of the picture. Diabetes, the sixth-leading cause of death in Texas, currently costs the state more than $12.5 billion a year, according to theAmerican Diabetes Association. One in 10 health care dollars is attributable to the disease. 

Any TAKS taking 5th grader can tell you that $12.5 billion is half of $25 billion. I don't know if the ADA figure means it costs the state government that much, but you get the idea. By kicking this subpopulation to the street, you whack away at the budget deficit and at the same time, you leave poor, sick people with no money with which to purchase fast food, so they get well. It's a win-win! 


Previous Budget Fix post: Kill the Texas Ethics Commission.