Some children who receive private duty nursing, a more continuous type of medical care in their homes, could lose their ability to live at home if an HHSC rule change goes into effect.
Neelam Bohra
Neelam Bohra was a 2023-24 disability reporting fellow. Through a partnership with the National Center on Disability and Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University and The New York Times, she covered accessibility issues affecting Texans. Neelam previously reported on labor policy for Politico, national culture for CNN Digital, and covered abortion, COVID-19 and the 2021 winter storm as a past fellow for The Texas Tribune.
Posted in
Health care
First human case of bird flu in Texas detected after contact with infected dairy cattle
The person had contact with infected cattle, state health officials said. It’s the second recorded human case in the U.S.
Posted in
Demographics
Migrants with disabilities struggle to access the U.S. asylum system, advocates say
The CBP One phone app, which most migrants use to begin the U.S. asylum process, isn’t accessible to those who are blind, deaf, have mobility issues, or have intellectual disabilities, according to a complaint.
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Health care
A woman’s fight to escape the hospital shows Medicaid’s limits for disabled Texans
Staffing shortages and mismanaged care can delay when Texans on some Medicaid programs are discharged from hospitals. This can cost the state more and take a toll on patients and caregivers.
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Health care
Texas Medical Board proposes new guidance for abortion medical exceptions
The guidance was disappointing to reproductive rights advocates who were seeking more specificity and a list of conditions that could qualify.
Posted in
Texas Abortion Restrictions
With Texas births rising post-Roe, disability advocates say child services need bolstering
Texas’ fertility rose after new abortion restrictions, raising concerns that special education and specialized health care will be stretched even thinner.
Posted in
Panhandle Wildfires
Facing staggering losses from wildfires, Panhandle ranchers and farmers seek aid to rebuild
Ranchers have likely lost thousands of cattle in the wildfires, according to some preliminary estimates.
Posted in
Texas Abortion Restrictions
Disabled Texans face more barriers to accessing abortion
Few organizations track the number of disabled individuals trying to access abortion, but abortion providers and groups that help assist Texans obtain out-of-state abortions say they are falling through the cracks.
Posted in
Demographics
Feds asked to overhaul school discipline at North Texas school district after students jailed
The complaint claims Bonham ISD and a city court discriminated against both Black students and disabled students by creating a hostile environment at school. The groups also filed a separate complaint against Corpus Christi ISD with the Texas Education Agency.
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Economy
For Texas’ program of blind merchants, the pandemic shrank opportunities, exposed income gaps
The Business Enterprises of Texas program offers visually impaired vendors food service contracts in government buildings.