Fewer Texans will receive food stamps in December than in November, but the number is still up overall since 2005 as the national recession continues. Our updated interactive map allows you to explore the number of food stamp recipients in your county and the economic impact of the program.
Department of State Health Services
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Health care
Report: Psychiatric Drug Use Higher Among Foster Kids
Children in foster care are several times more likely to be prescribed psychotropic drugs, according to a new Government Accountability Office report on five states. As Matt Largey of KUT News reports, investigators found high rates of potentially risky practices in Texas.
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State Government
Updated: UT Cancer Institute Focuses on Effective Drug Research
Hoping to get more effective cancer drugs into the hands of patients, state leaders this morning announced the creation of a new cancer research institute in Houston.
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Health care
Drug Company Payments to Doctors Raise Concerns of Conflicting Interests
Thousands of Texas doctors, researchers and medical experts — including more than 100 who are employed by the state and are paid with taxpayer dollars — routinely supplement their salaries with income from pharmaceutical companies.
Posted inHealth care
Number of Texans on Food Stamps Up Sharply Amid Recession
The number of Texans receiving food aid has increased by nearly 1.4 million in the last four years. Use this interactive to see the percentage of each county’s population that receives food assistance and the economic impact of the federal funds.
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State Government
Study to Target High Liver Cancer Rates Among South Texas Hispanics
Hispanics in South Texas suffer from liver cancer at twice the rate of the rest of the nation, and as Eileen Pace of Texas Public Radio reports, the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas has awarded scientists $2 million to find out why.
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Health care
Guest Column: No Better Care, Thanks to Tort Reform
The sweeping medical lawsuit reforms of 2003 had two demonstrable effects: Doctors, hospitals and malpractice insurers got richer; and many contingent fee lawyers were put out of business. Which was exactly what proponents of the reforms wanted.
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Health care
Guest Column: Better Care, Thanks to Tort Reform
Since the passage of sweeping medical lawsuit reforms in 2003, liability insurance rates have plummeted, doctors have flocked to our state in record numbers and nursing homes and hospitals are again operational. That’s good for patients — and good for Texas.
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State Government
Perry, Governor’s Office Downplayed Allegations at Centers for Disabled
Gov. Rick Perry and his staff repeatedly downplayed the severity of abuse and neglect allegations at Texas’ state-run institutions for the disabled — until conditions became so dire that federal authorities intervened.
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Health care
Soapbox: No Better Care, Thanks to Tort Reform
The sweeping medical lawsuit reforms of 2003 had two demonstrable effects: Doctors, hospitals and malpractice insurers got richer; and many contingent fee lawyers were put out of business. Which was exactly what proponents of the reforms wanted.
