Federal officials called the state’s health agency this week to say that Texas’ reluctance to expand Medicaid will play into whether the Obama administration extends a waiver that helps the state’s hospitals cover uninsured patients.
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
Senators Approve Partial Consolidation of Health Agencies
The Texas Senate on Wednesday tentatively approved a measure to partially consolidate the state’s massive health and human services system.
Posted in
Health care
Senate Votes to Close Austin Institution
The Austin State Supported Living Center will be the first closed, but more are to come as the state continues moving away from residential centers for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Posted in
Politics
Business Group Blasts Religious Freedom Proposals
Two proposed constitutional amendments designed to safeguard religious liberty would “devastate” economic development and set Texas on the ill-fated path Indiana just traveled, a leading business group said Tuesday.
Posted in
Health care
Uncertainty Haunts Commissioner Kyle Janek
Two reports have criticized Health Commissioner Kyle Janek’s leadership. Three state lawmakers have called for his resignation. And a contract awarded to a vendor on his watch is under investigation. What’s a new governor to do?
Posted in
Criminal Justice
“Bathroom Bills” Pit Transgender Texans Against the GOP
A set of bills from conservative lawmakers would make it illegal for people to use the bathroom other than the one designated for their gender assigned at birth. Members of the transgender community say the legislation specifically targets them and even places a bounty on their heads.
Posted in
Health care
House Democrats Target Alternatives to Abortion Program
As the Texas House prepares for a floor fight Tuesday over its budget, a flurry of amendments filed by Democrats seeks to defund the state’s Alternatives to Abortion program.
Posted in
Health care
Abbott to Foster Care Agency: Get Your Act Together
In the wake of three child deaths under the state’s ward so far this year, Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday told the Department of Family and Protective Services to straighten up and fly right.
Posted in
Health care
Obamacare Cash Helps Pay State’s Medicaid Bill
Texas Republicans have long used the Affordable Care Act as a political punching bag, but that hasn’t stopped state budget writers from taking $102 million from the president’s signature health care law to pay some bills.
Posted in
Health care
Rural Hospitals Struggle to Keep Their Doors Open
Policymakers must decide whether to spend more money on small hospitals serving a limited number of patients that, in most cases, cannot keep their doors open without government assistance. But without them people, inevitably, will die.
