Yesterday, I joined with thousands of other Texans to march on the Capitol and send the message that Texas Medicaid Matters.  The march, rally and legislative visits organized by Texas Well and Healthy brought together people from all over Texas to share what Medicaid health coverage means - or would mean - to their families and our state.

Texas lawmakers are deciding right now whether the state will accept billions of dollars in federal funds that would allow 1.5 million currently uninsured Texans to have health coverage they need. The Medicaid expansion that would make this possible would also bring Texas an estimated $6 billion of annual economic benefit and many health care jobs.

The Texas Legislature and the Governor are dragging their feet on accepting the expansion, even as neighboring governors in Florida, New Mexico, and Arizona are deciding that expanding Medicaid is the right thing to do.

The message from constituents was clear. Medicaid saves lives. Having the highest number of uninsured children is wrong. And expanding Medicaid is a moral imperative. (With the perk of being great for the economy!)

To urge Texas legislators to step off the sidelines and take action to expand health coverage, add your name to MomsRising's open letter to legislators now: http://action.momsrising.org/sign/TXMedicaidEx

Here are some photos from the march and rally.