Like many Texas lockups, the Waller County Jail staff had not been sufficiently trained in safeguarding suicidal or mentally ill inmates. Part of the problem is underfunding and understaffing at the state agency overseeing the network of 244 local and private jails.
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
Equity Firms Fishing in Texas Medical Waters
Doctors with independent primary care practices in Texas are increasingly being courted by private equity firms looking for investments, and offering leverage in the consolidating health care industry.
Posted in
Health care
State Leaders Order Investigations Into Fetal Organ Preservation
UPDATED: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have joined Gov. Greg Abbott in calling for an investigation into Planned Parenthood after an anti-abortion group’s release of an undercover video.
Posted in
Health care
UT Biomedical Research Turning More to Private Funds
The UT System announced a deal on Thursday accepting up to $2.4 million a year from the pharmaceutical company Sanofi to fund biomedical research. As government research money dwindles, private funds are playing a larger role, and that comes with worries.
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Health care
Texas Hopes to Attract More Mental Health Care Workers
A program created this year will help pay mental health professionals’ student loans if they practice in a medically needy area. The program seeks to alleviate the state’s shortage of mental health professionals, which watchdogs are calling a “public health emergency.”
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Criminal Justice
After Gay Marriage Ruling, Republicans Promise Religious Liberty Fight
Texas’ Republican leaders suffered a historic loss on Friday when the U.S. Supreme Court held that state bans on gay marriage are unconstitutional. But social conservatives vowed not to go down without a fight over religious liberty.
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Criminal Justice
Texting Bill’s Demise a Victory for Tea Party Freshmen
It was a mostly new cast of characters in the Texas Senate, a chamber historically ruled by seniority, that flexed its political muscle to stop a statewide texting-while-driving ban this year.
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Health care
Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare Subsidies
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a key element of the president’s signature health law — the part that gives tax subsidies to people who buy health insurance on the Affordable Care Act’s federal marketplace.
Posted inHealth care
Catch Up on Health Care Issues From this Session
During the 84th legislative session, Texas lawmakers contemplated a consolidation of the state’s health agencies and reforming end-of-life care. Learn about these issues and more with our Texas Legislative Guide.
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Health care
Health Budget Kicks Can Down Road, Experts Say
On balance, health care for the neediest Texans didn’t fare well this session. Departing lawmakers leave behind a Medicaid budget that most experts agree is too low, and they predict it will spawn a hole in the state budget that will have to be filled later.
