Five months after the death of a severely disabled woman in a state facility, three employees have been indicted on felony murder charges.
Health And Human Services Commission
Posted inState Government
Analysis: Sometimes, the Texas political agenda sets itself
Between courts and scandals, football and storms, rats of the literal and figurative varieties, state leaders have lately been forced to react to outside events instead of using their offices to set their own agendas.
Posted inState Government
In Texas, you probably won’t get welfare benefits — even if you qualify
Texas’ rolls of cash assistance recipients under its TANF program have steadily shrunk over the last two decades. Some experts say the bureaucracy guarding the state’s safety net makes it difficult to access those benefits, even for Texans who fit the requirements.
Posted inState Government
Analysis: Texas has more than one problem with government rats
The infestation of Norwegian rats in a state building where health regulators work is not only a big, embarrassing mess — it’s a metaphor for a persistent problem in Texas government.
Posted in
Health care
Texas parents wait in limbo as policymakers struggle to save Children’s Health Insurance Program
Texas is pushing the federal government for temporary funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program while Congress fights over a permanent solution.
Posted in
Health care
Texas health regulators overrun by “several hundred” rats at Austin headquarters
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission has a $60,000 vermin problem, and is hiring private exterminators to deal with an estimated “several hundred” sewer rats in the building.
Posted in
In Harvey's Wake
Without recovery funds, more than 50 Texas day cares close after Harvey
A number of Texas day care centers are in rough shape after Hurricane Harvey, adding one more challenge for parents trying to get back home and find work — they’re unable to find a safe place to leave their children.
Posted in
Health care
State gives Alternatives to Abortion program $20 million more in funding
The Texas Legislature’s budget for the next two years includes $20 million more in funding for a controversial state program that seeks to discourage women from getting abortions in the state.
Posted in
Health care
Texas insurers to cover advanced breast cancer screenings
A new law will require insurance companies to cover 3-D mammograms for Texas patients. The advanced screening technology allows for early detection of cancer and reduces false positives.
Posted in
In Harvey's Wake
Amid staff exodus at health agency, some say chief has political agenda
Dozens of experienced senior staff members have left Texas’ health and human services agency, saying morale has sunk under the new executive director, and critics say it’s hampered the state’s ability to aid victims of Hurricane Harvey.
