AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Health and Human Services Commissioner Tom Seuhs says talk of Texas opting out of Medicaid has been misconstrued.

Seuhs said Friday that the discussion has overshadowed some of the funding problems states like Texas face in paying for the massive state-federal health care program for the poor. Seuhs told The Associated Press that ""what's getting lost is the need to reinvent Medicaid, not getting out of Medicaid."

Some conservative Republicans have suggested that Texas become the first state to opt out of the program.
Seuhs made the comments as the agency released a report on how Medicaid impacts the health care system in Texas and the potential impact of opting out.

The report shows that Medicaid pays for more than half of all births in the state and assists two-thirds of Texans in nursing homes.