health care

The Future of Health Care

by Texas Tribune Events Staff

Join us in Edinburg for a day full of conversations on health care issues affecting Texas and Texans as part of our 10th Anniversary event series.

Full Story

The exterior of Huntsville Unit, a prison in Huntsville, Texas on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019.

Prison health care costs are higher than ever in Texas. Many point to an aging prison population.

by Davis Rich

Although there are fewer people in prison than there were a decade ago, costs have surged along with the share of inmates who are older — and sicker.

Full Story

San Antonio paid sick leave requirement blocked by state judge

by Stacy Fernández

A judge blocked an ordinance that would provide paid sick leave for employees who work in the city of San Antonio starting Dec. 1.

Full Story

Watch: Conversations on the future of urban Texas

by Texas Tribune Events Staff

We're livestreaming our two-day event in Houston exploring the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for Texas' largest cities.

Full Story

Tenth Talks: Health Care

by Staff

Join us for our second Tenth Talks event featuring policy experts illuminating their views on the future of health care in Texas.

Full Story

Watch: A conversation on rural health care

by Texas Tribune Staff

We're livestreaming our conversation in Canyon on rural health care, moderated by Texas Tribune Managing Editor Corrie MacLaggan.

Full Story

Stephen Hahn is the chief medical executive at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Top HHS official to run FDA on temporary basis while Trump readies nomination of Texas cancer doctor

by Laurie McGinley, The Washington Post

The president plans to nominate Stephen Hahn, the chief medical officer of Houston's MD Anderson Cancer Center, as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.

Full Story

Karlee Steele is now living four years cancer-free after being a patient under Nobel Prize recipient Dr. Jim Allison and his immunotherapy research. Dr. Allison's research was approved by the FDA in part by CPRIT grants and research.

Texas voters could give cancer research organization $3 billion in November

If passed, Proposition 6 on the Nov. 5 ballot would allow the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas to take out an additional $3 billion in debt, doubling its initial bonding authority since its creation in 2007.

Full Story

Lucy Cummings, 67, a 50-year resident of Joaquin and a supporter of the recent anti-abortion ordinance, stands on her front porch with her granddaughter, Brystal.

Anti-abortion activists take their fight to small-town East Texas

by Edgar Walters

Five towns have passed ordinances aiming to outlaw abortion. Critics say a legal challenge is likely.

Full Story

A suspected smuggler uses his arms to paddle a raft of immigrants across the Rio Grande in an illegal crossing of the Mexico-U.S. border near McAllen.

Trump’s order will deny visas to immigrants who lack health-care coverage

by Maria Sacchetti, The Washington Post

President Trump said the new rule, issued late on Friday, is intended to “protect the availability of health care benefits for Americans."

Full Story

The water tower at Texas A&M University.

Texas A&M University System to ban vaping across all its campuses

by Shannon Najmabadi

"This health threat is serious enough that I want to see the ban include every building, outside space, parking lot, garage and laboratory within the Texas A&M System," Chancellor John Sharp wrote in a Tuesday memorandum.

Full Story

Patients wait to be seen at the People's Community Clinic in Austin, which provides state-subsidized health services to low-income families and individuals.

Fearing deportation, immigrants are dropping Medicaid over misinformation about Trump's new policy

by Acacia Coronado

Changes to the federal "public charge" rule are set to take effect in October, but fear and confusion are already causing immigrants to drop benefits.

Full Story

U.S. Congressman Vicente Gonzalez speaks to the crowd at a campaign rally for senate candidate Beto O'Rourke in Edinburg.

After Houston debate, U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez switches endorsement from Castro to Biden

by Patrick Svitek

The South Texas congressman cited the debate — during which Castro and Biden tangled — as he threw his support to the former vice president.

Full Story

Former Housing Secretary Julian Castro and former Vice President Joe Biden at the 2020 Democratic U.S. presidential debate in Houston on Sept. 12, 2019.

Julián Castro goes after Joe Biden during debate, questioning his memory and his commitment to Barack Obama’s legacy

by Alex Samuels

The showdown early in the debate came after Biden criticized the "Medicare for All" health care plan touted by U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

Full Story

Eigth grader Montanique DeShay sits waiting in her Nike Carmine 6's as Ashlyn Brooks, Medical Assistant at MedSpring Urgent Care in Austin, comes to check on her on Aug 27, 2014. Like many patients visiting urgent care facilities at this time of year, Montanique is having a physical evaluation performed to allow her to practice sports this school year. With the increase of urgent care clinics in large cities, which offer treatment for common illnesses, hospitals are losing insured patients to these type of walk-in clinics and facing increased uncompensated care costs for their uninsured patients who can't pay out of pocket for urgent care outside of an emergency room.

Texas has the most people without health insurance in the nation — again

by Stacy Fernández

For the second year in a row, the number of Texans without health insurance increased, and fewer people enrolled in Medicaid.

Full Story

An aerial shot of the dam on Lake McQueeny near Seguin on Aug. 30, 2019.

These dams needed replacing 15 years ago. Now Texas will drain four lakes instead — causing other problems.

by Chase Karacostas

Two floodgate failures on 90-year-old Guadalupe River Valley dams — and the plan to lower the remaining four — are highlighting Texas' underfunded, aging flood infrastructure.

Full Story

English student Kristin Miller smokes a cigarette and checks her phone on the South Mall between classes.

Texas raises the legal smoking age, exempting members of the military

by Riane Roldan

Senate Bill 21, authored by Sen. Joan Huffman, a Republican from Houston, made Texas the 16th state to raise the legal smoking age from 18 to 21.

Full Story

Matthew Holleman, 13, receives his shots at the Immunization Collaboration of Tarrant County in Fort Worth, Texas on August 30, 2013. The Immunization Collaboration offers low cost vaccines targeting hepatitis, the flu, chickenpox, measles, mumps and HPV amongst other illnesses. (Cooper Neill / for The Texas Tribune)

Texas almost mandated an HPV vaccine before politics got in the way. Now, the state has one of the country's highest rates of cervical cancer.

by Edgar Walters

The state’s approach stands in stark contrast to that of Australia, where leaders have successfully pushed a nationwide program that has made a sizable dent in cervical cancer rates.

Full Story

State Rep. John Zerwas, R-Richmond (left), speaks with Rep. Drew Springer, R-Muenster (right), in the House Chamber on March 27, 2019, the day the House will take up HB1, the 2020-21 budget plan.

by Edgar Walters

The Texas Pregnancy Care Network, the largest recipient of funding under the state's controversial Alternatives to Abortion program, is poised to receive millions more under the proposal.

Full Story