The next round of signups for health insurance under the Affordable Care act is two weeks away, and federal officials are lowering their estimates of how many will enroll. But uninsured Texans are a particular target.
Edgar Walters
Edgar Walters worked at the Tribune from 2013 to 2020, most recently covering health and human services. Before that, he had a political reporting fellowship with the Berliner Zeitung, a daily newspaper in Berlin. He is a graduate of the Plan II Honors Program at the University of Texas at Austin, where he worked as an editor for The Daily Texan. When not in the newsroom or at the Capitol, he could be found on the volleyball court, standing 6 feet, 7 inches tall.
Posted in
Health care
Dan Patrick Asks Senators to Study Fetal Tissue, Panama Canal
Fetal tissue used for scientific research tops the list of topics Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has asked Texas senators on the Health and Human Services Committee to study before the Legislature reconvenes in 2017.
Posted in
Health care
Texas Mulls Who Profits From Medicaid
A recent high-profile battle over funding therapy services for poor and disabled kids has been cast as budget-ax-wielding lawmakers against suffering children. But there’s plenty at stake for some for-profit companies as well.
Posted in
Health care
Cuts to Therapy Services For Kids Softened
Following an outcry from dozens of state lawmakers, Texas’ top health agency announced Thursday it will make less drastic cuts than originally planned to a therapy program for children with disabilities, even if that means spending more than lawmakers budgeted for the program.
Posted in
Health care
New Era for Health Records Drives Demand for Documentation Help
Starting Thursday, most U.S. health care providers must switch to a new system of computer codes for recording patient ailments. Opinions are mixed about the changes, but they are clearly fueling a greater demand for medical scribes, who focus on entering patient data.
Posted in
Health care
Amid Lawsuit, Patrick Defends Medicaid Cuts to Therapy
Amid an ongoing lawsuit over deep cuts made by lawmakers this year to a therapy program for children with disabilities, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Wednesday offered a sternly worded defense of the Legislature’s move.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Judge Temporarily Halts Cuts to Children’s Therapy
Deep cuts to a therapy program for poor and disabled children will not take effect Oct. 1, a state district judge ruled Tuesday afternoon — the second such delay in recent weeks.
Posted in
Health care
Texas A&M Disputes State’s Account In Medicaid Suit
Texas’ largest health agency says it has not studied how budget cuts will affect children’s access to medically necessary therapy treatments — and appeared this week to place the blame for that on Texas A&M University. The university is denying the state’s account.
Posted in
Health care
State Didn’t Study Budget Cuts for Children’s Therapy
New evidence presented in court on Monday paints a clearer picture of discussions taking place inside the state’s main health agency as it seeks to make deep cuts ordered by state lawmakers to a therapy program for poor and disabled children.
Posted in
Health care
To Reduce Health Costs, Insurer Spends on Housing for Homeless
One private company that provides health insurance to poor and disabled Texans is taking a gamble that it can keep homeless patients healthier — and save money — with a cash investment to get them off the street.
