Some cuts to Medicaid reimbursement rates will take effect on Jan. 1, putting Texas’ Medicaid spending on par with that of many other states. But as Jessica Mahoney of KUT News reports, providers of physical, occupational and speech therapy worry many could be left without services.
Health And Human Services Commission
Posted inEconomy, Health care
Updated Interactive: Food Stamp Distribution Map
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.
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.
Posted in
Health care
Video: Planned Parenthood Clinics Close In Hidalgo County
The state’s family planning reductions hit the Planned Parenthood Association of Hidalgo County especially hard. In September, the association shut down four of its eight health clinics and laid off half of its staff. Anti-abortion advocates argue the state should not “subsidize the abortion industry.” The Trib’s Thanh Tan and Justin Dehn report from Hidalgo County.
Posted in
Health care
As Costs Rise, Texas Doctors Experiment With Care, Payment Models
As the U.S. grapples with rising health care costs and a system that rewards doctors and hospitals for how sick their patients get, not how healthy they become, Texas providers are experimenting with new payment and care delivery models.
Posted inHealth care
Perry Reviles Mandatory Insurance, but Texas Faces Crisis in Coverage
Gov. Rick Perry vehemently opposes forcing Americans to carry health insurance — yet his home state leads the nation in the size of its uninsured population and ranks near the bottom on almost every measure of coverage.
Posted in
Health care
Liveblog: Health and Human Services at The Texas Tribune Festival
We’ll be liveblogging throughout the weekend from The Texas Tribune Festival’s health and human services track — which includes panels on the fight over federal health reform, whether Texas can cure cancer and what effect tort reform has had statewide.
Posted in
State Government
Grant Seeks to Reduce Restraints in Treatment Centers
Responding to cases of abuse and even death in Texas’ residential treatment centers, a mental health organization is funding a program to better train direct-care workers.
Posted in
Economy
31 Days, 31 Ways: Budget Cuts Final Straw for Air Ambulance
DAY 5 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: The Rio Grande Valley’s longest-running helicopter ambulance will be permanently grounded this fall — and state budget cuts were the final straw.
Posted in
Demographics
Conditions, Health Risks Sicken Colonias Residents
Along the Texas-Mexico border, colonias residents tell identical stories: of migrating with dreams of safety and prosperity, of getting swindled into buying worthless land, of sticking it out so their children will get educated. And of getting sick.
