The rates of elective surgery for Medicare patients vary dramatically depending on which part of the state Texans live in, according to new research from the Dartmouth Atlas Project, which analyzes medical referrals, procedures and health care costs across the nation.
Emily Ramshaw
Emily Ramshaw was the editor-in-chief of The Texas Tribune from 2016 to 2020. During her tenure, the Tribune — billed “one of the nonprofit news sector’s runaway success stories” — won a Peabody Award, several national Murrow Awards and top honors from the Online News Association.
Before joining the Tribune in 2010 as one of its founding reporters, Ramshaw spent six years at The Dallas Morning News, where she broke national stories about sexual abuse inside Texas’ youth lock-ups, reported from inside a West Texas polygamist compound and uncovered “fight clubs” inside state institutions for the disabled. The Texas APME named Ramshaw its 2008 star reporter of the year. In 2016, she was named to the board of the Pulitzer Prizes.
A native of Washington, D.C., and the product of two journalist parents, Ramshaw graduated from Northwestern University in 2003 with dual degrees in journalism and American history.
Posted in
State Government
Perry Helps Key Advisers Take a Big Next Step
“Career coach” is not listed on Gov. Rick Perry’s résumé — but it might as well be. In the 12 years he has held Texas’ highest elected office, he has helped align the professional stars for many of his key advisers.
Posted in
Health care
Lawmakers Could Restore Family Planning Funds
When lawmakers passed a budget in 2011 that cut $73 million from family planning services, the goal was largely political: halt taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood. Now they are facing the policy implications and, in some cases, reconsidering.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Attorney General Seeks to Seize Polygamist Ranch
The Texas attorney general’s office is pursuing legal action to seize the West Texas ranch owned by the polygamist sect led by Warren Jeffs, who is serving life in prison for sexually assaulting young girls.
Posted in
Higher Education
For South Texas, No Easy Road to Medical School
South Texas health leaders say they’ve waited long enough to establish a medical school in the Rio Grande Valley. But they’ve got some major hurdles to cross to get from blueprints to bricks and mortar.
Posted in
Higher Education
Abbott: State Can Permit Foreign Med Schools to Train in Texas
The attorney general’s office has ruled that no laws prevent the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board from allowing foreign medical schools to send students to complete their training in Texas hospitals.
Posted in
Health care
Ahead of Health Exchange Deadline, Perry Reaffirms “No” Stance
Ahead of a Friday deadline to decide, Gov. Rick Perry’s office has reaffirmed that Texas will not implement a major tenet of federal health reform — a state-based online marketplace for consumers to purchase coverage.
Posted in
Health care
Federal Medicaid Director: Funding for Women’s Health Program Expires at Year’s End
The federal government will halt funding for Texas’ Women’s Health Program on Dec. 31, the country’s Medicaid director wrote in a letter to state health officials the day after her boss, President Obama, was re-elected.
Posted inState Government
Wendy Davis Clinches Re-election in SD-10
State Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, narrowly kept her seat on Tuesday night. One of the Democratic Party’s rising stars, she fended off Republican state Rep. Mark Shelton in a bitter campaign contest.
Posted in
Health care
Repair of Tiny Medicaid Rounding Errors Could Carry Hefty Price Tag
Federal authorities say Texas health officials must resolve rounding errors that lead to mere pennies worth of Medicaid overpayments. The fix could end up costing Texas taxpayers more than $1 million.
