Children on Medicaid under the age of three will not be prescribed powerful anti-psychotic drugs without a special authorization, under new rules the state Health and Human Services Commission implemented last week.
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.
The Last Seven Days: Special Session Update
The Tribune counts down to the end of the special session with updates on where the major issues added to the agenda by Gov. Rick Perry stand.
Democrats Question Perry’s Whereabouts
House Democrats — stirred up in a day of partisan battles over windstorm insurance and a health care compact — took the opportunity to question the whereabouts of the man who called them back for a special session.
House Gives Early Nod to Health Care Compact
House lawmakers gave early approval to a bill designed to let Texas take control of Medicaid and Medicare from the federal government after a high-decibel argument between the measure’s Republican author and Democratic lawmakers.
Abortion-Rights Group Files Lawsuit Over Sonogram Bill
The Center for Reproductive Rights, a national abortion-rights advocacy group, has filed suit over Texas’ newly signed abortion sonogram law, alleging it violates the First Amendment rights of the doctor and the patient.
Updated: Fiscal Conservatives Frustrated With House Votes
Rep. Donna Howard’s proposal to direct surplus Rainy Day Fund money to Texas schools for enrollment growth survived to fight another day during debate on the House floor this morning, but not before a Republican attempt to derail it.
While Perry Rejects Federal Reform, State Agency Quietly Presses On
Despite Gov. Rick Perry’s vehement opposition to federal health reform, the state has accepted a $1 million federal grant to plan for a key element of it: a Travelocity-like state insurance marketplace.
Second Life: Bill Becomes Festooned Health Care Christmas Tree
In hours of debate this afternoon, House lawmakers used an omnibus health care bill as their last-ditch effort to get other medical measures that failed during the regular session passed during the special session.
Health Reform Bill Alters Family Planning Funding
The health reform bill House lawmakers considered today has drawn an unexpected band of supporters: abortion opponents. The measure contains a provision aimed at doing what GOP lawmakers have fought to do all year: restrict funding to Planned Parenthood.
Feds May Block Effort to Force Out Planned Parenthood
GOP lawmakers have gone to great lengths to try to force Planned Parenthood out of Texas’ Medicaid Women’s Health Program. The Obama administration may have headed off their plans.


