A reinvented Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas says its darkest hour has passed, but the agency faces new conservative lawmakers unconvinced more money should be devoted to the agency.
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.
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Health care
Lawmakers Push “Right to Try” Experimental Drugs
It’s kind of like Dallas Buyers Club: A group of sick Texans is seeking to gain access to experimental drugs — only this time, a flurry of state lawmakers is rushing to help them. In Austin, the movement hits a personal chord.
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Health care
Poor Payouts Endangering Medicaid, Doctors Say
Physicians’ groups told Texas budget writers on Thursday that the state’s health insurance program for the poor pays doctors so little that it is endangering the health of the program.
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Health care
As State Ages, Families Face Caring for Elderly
Eva Bonilla’s story is one version of an oft-told tale. When her ailing, elderly father had nowhere else to go, she quit her job and brought him into her home. As Texas ages, more children will do the same, and experts worry that their skills and resources will be tested.
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Health care
Virtual Doctors Are Making Medical Board Really Nervous
In the emerging field of telemedicine, doctors diagnose symptoms and prescribe drugs without ever meeting patients face-to-face. The Texas Medical Board doesn’t believe that is a good idea.
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Health care
Texas Has High Stakes in Lawsuit Over Health Law
Texas and the 33 other states that refused to set up their own insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act are especially vulnerable to an impending U.S. Supreme Court decision.
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Health care
Senator Talks of “Lost Confidence” in Health Agency Watchdog
At the Senate Health and Human Services Committee’s first meeting of the legislative session, Chairman Charles Schwertner shared some tough criticism of the Health and Human Services Commission’s Office of Inspector General.
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Health care
Echoes of Fights Past in Health Consolidation
Twelve years after a major mash-up of state health agencies, the Sunset Commission and several lawmakers say it’s time to finish the job and merge the remaining five systems into one. Some veteran Capitol observers say they’re feeling déjà vu.
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Criminal Justice
Public Integrity Unit Will Not Prosecute AG Paxton
New Attorney General Ken Paxton, who was found in 2014 to have violated the Texas Securities Act, will not be prosecuted by the state’s office that investigates public corruption, officials said Thursday.
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Higher Education
Abbott: Replace Business Incentive With University Fund
Gov. Greg Abbott wants to eliminate an incentive program for technology startups in favor of a new program that would make payments to universities that recruit prestigious faculty.
