Some pediatric dentists are bad-mouthing a bill that would allow mobile dental clinics to be paid by Medicaid for sealing the teeth of low-income kids at school.
Health And Human Services Commission
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Health care
Insurers Drop Child-Only Plans, Blame Health Reform
Insurers in Texas have stopped offering new child-only policies in protest over a provision of the federal health care overhaul. For children being raised by their grandparents, there are few options left.
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Health care
Advocates Rally to Retain State Health Funds
Hundreds of people rallied at the Capitol today to urge lawmakers to maintain state spending on Medicaid and CHIP, the health care programs for children, the disabled and the very poor.
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Health care
“Retarded” Likely to Be Struck From Texas Statutes
File this in the “this hasn’t happened yet?” category: The Texas Legislature has taken one big step toward banishing the “R” word from state statutes.
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Health care
Health Payment Reform Bills Get Warm Reception
Two sweeping bills to reward patient outcomes — as opposed to the current system that incentivizes overutilization — got a warm welcome in a Senate committee hearing this morning.
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Health care
Cost of Procedures Varies Widely by Hospital, Area
The cost of common medical procedures paid for by Medicaid varies dramatically from hospital to hospital and region to region, according to a Texas Tribune analysis of claims by and payments to hundreds of hospitals across the state.
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Health care
Surging Growth of Neonatal ICUs Brings Increased Budget Scrutiny
State health officials, searching for solutions to Texas’ budget shortfall, are eying neonatal intensive care units, which they fear are being overbuilt and overused by hospitals eager to profit from the high-cost care.
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Health care
Lawmakers Target Federal Health Reform
Federal health care reform was the clear antagonist at today’s meeting of the House Select Committee on State Sovereignty. Republican lawmakers laid out a dozen bills aimed at getting the federal government out of Texas’ health care system.
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Health care
Proposal Pits Primary Care Against Specialties
A controversial budget proposal would concentrate the money the state spends on graduate medical residencies into the doctors’ first three years of training — regardless of how long their residencies take to complete.
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Health care
Fighting the Fear That Saving a Life Means Losing Your Soul
With the number of Hispanics in Texas continuing to swell, the Texas Organ Sharing Alliance is embarking on a campaign to change cultural and religious resistance to organ donation.
