State Rep. John Zerwas, a budget conferee, said Monday he’s relatively confident that a rider stipulating the Legislature's preferred Medicaid reform terms for any deal with the federal government would stick to the 2014-15 budget.

If the state Legislature approves reforms to the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, the embattled agency should have its financing restored, budget negotiators decided on Monday.

The Texas Medical Association is pushing measures this legislative session to help modernize medical practices, such as collecting or verifying patient data by swiping a driver's license.

UPDATED: The Supreme Court’s ruling that penalties under the Affordable Care Act qualify as taxes has opened the door to another constitutional challenge, Houston physician and Republican donor Steve Hotze said Tuesday. And he's filing suit. 

Small cigarette manufacturers would face new state fees on their sales under a measure that passed the Texas House in a preliminary vote on Monday — a big win for Big Tobacco. 

At the Trib's April 25 symposium on health care at the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. David Warner of the LBJ School of Public Affairs talked about the escalating cost of health care with Michelle Berger, president of the Travis County Medical Society; Jesus Garza, president and CEO of the Seton Healthcare Family; Dan McCoy, chief medical officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas; and Tom Suehs, former executive commissioner of Texas Health and Human Services.