Medicaid expansion picks up bipartisan support in the Texas House, but hurdles remain
Expanding the Medicaid rolls to include more than a million Texans could get a floor vote during House budget hearings on Thursday. Full Story
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![Trish W. and her son 12-year-old son look out into the sunset at Canyon Lake on April 13, 2021.]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
Point of Order: Not throwing away our shot
In the latest episode of our podcast about the Texas Legislature, Evan Smith talks to Imelda Garcia, the chair of the state’s COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Panel, about what it takes to get needles in the arms of Texans — and how long it will really be before we’ve reached herd immunity. Full Story
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Texas lawmakers advance bills blocking access to gender-affirming health care despite opposition from LGBTQ Texans, medical associations
Equality Texas CEO Ricardo Martinez said Texas has filed more anti-LGBTQ bills this session than any other state legislature. Full Story
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![People hold up signs at an event held by Equality Texas at the Capitol on April 14, 2021. The group had several speakers inc…]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Family fights anti-trans bills at Texas Capitol: “I will walk through fire to see my child be happy”
Lisa Stanton and her daughter, Maya, say the slate of anti-trans bills at the Legislature could force them to move out of state. Listen in the weekend edition of The Brief podcast. Full Story
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![Lisa Stanton, with her daughter Maya, spoke at an event held by Equality Texas at the Capitol on April 14, 2021. The group h…]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Feds rescind health care funding agreement that would have paid for care for uninsured, poor Texans after 2022
The Washington Post, citing two federal health officials, said the decision was a bid to push Texas toward expanding Medicaid. Full Story
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![Dr. Spencer R. Berthelsen, M.D., Chairman, Board of Directors at Kelsey-Seybold, who still sees patients two days a week, vi…]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
House committee advances anti-abortion bills, including ones aimed at outlawing the procedure in Texas
The bills now head to the full House for debate. Versions already passed by the Senate are also pending. Each measure will need to be approved by both chambers before becoming law. Full Story
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![Information and diagrams inside a medical room at a Planned Parenthood in south Austin on Jan. 14, 2020.]()
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COVID-19 ravaged Texas nursing homes. Here are the stories behind the numbers.
Nearly 9,000 Texas nursing home residents have died of COVID-19. This is what the last year of chaos and isolation was like for nursing homes residents and the employees who care for them. Full Story
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![Norma Gonzales, the housekeeping supervisor of Amistad Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, walks with Ursula Sinko, a residen…]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texans hit hardest by coronavirus are facing another challenge: the pause on the J&J vaccine
Efforts to vaccinate young people, rural Texans, communities of color and people experiencing homelessness have been impacted by the pause. Full Story
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Texas coronavirus cases haven't surged since Gov. Greg Abbott lifted the mask order. Experts warn it's too soon to celebrate.
Daily new cases and the positivity rate have leveled off over the past month, while deaths and hospitalization have gone down substantially. Full Story
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Returning to normal before the Texas herd has immunity
Texas is still about 13 million people away from herd immunity to the coronavirus. The state is chasing that goal even as Texans begin to act like the pandemic is over. Full Story
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![Fans watched a game between the Texas Rangers and the San Diego Padres at Globe Life Field on April 11, 2021.]()
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Rick Perry returns to the Texas Capitol to pitch study of psychedelic drugs for PTSD in veterans
The former Republican governor is throwing his weight behind a bill by state Rep. Alex Dominguez, D-Brownsville, that would order a clinical study of using psilocybin — found in "magic mushrooms" — to help veterans with mental health problems. Full Story
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![Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks at U.S. Sen. John Cornyn's, R-Texas, campaign bus tour stop in College Station on Oct. 2…]()
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Texas pauses J&J vaccinations as feds plan to review six reports of blood clotting among 6.8 million doses nationwide
At the state's three FEMA vaccination sites in Dallas, Arlington and Houston, officials said that vaccine efforts would continue but that officials would not be administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Full Story
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![Harris County Public Health workers received 12,000 doses of the new Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine at NRG Stadium in…]()
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Texas Senate revives push to block cities' paid sick leave ordinances
Supporters say Senate Bill 14 will make it easier for businesses to operate in multiple cities. Opponents call it an "existential threat to Texas workers.” Full Story
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Trying to make sense of how Texas ranks on coronavirus vaccinations? Here’s a look behind the numbers.
Texas is beating the national rate in terms of seniors fully vaccinated, but unique challenges make it harder to move up in the rankings in other areas, officials and experts say. Full Story
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![A volunteer checks in a patient who will receive a vaccine at a 24-hour vaccination event at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex o…]()
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TribCast: Texas rushes to get more residents vaccinated
On this week's Tribcast, Matthew talks to Karen, Patrick and Ross about the race to reach herd immunity in Texas and the early maneuverings in the 2022 election cycle. Full Story
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![Dr. Annamaria Macaluso Davidson holds a COVID-19 vaccine registration card at Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Medical Cente…]()
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Republican state House speaker backs expanding Medicaid to cover mothers for a year after they give birth
The number of reported maternal deaths has increased nationwide in recent decades. Health experts and advocates say giving low-income moms Medicaid coverage for a year after delivery, rather than two months, could save lives. Full Story
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![Patients wait to be seen at the People's Community Clinic in Austin, which provides state-subsidized women's health services…]()
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Analysis: A Texas state budget — minus $38.6 billion in federal stimulus money
The state budget approved by the Texas Senate on Tuesday is just the start: Lawmakers still have to decide what to do with billions in federal COVID-19 relief money. Full Story
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![Levi Pedrick peaks out of his kindergarten class window on the first day of in-person classes at Highland Village Elementary.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate approves a $250 billion state budget — but questions remain about how federal aid will be used
The budget does not factor in over $35 billion in federal aid. Senators said they don't yet know when that money will come in and what strings could be attached. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott bans state agencies and state-funded organizations from requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination
This comes as vaccine credentials, often referred to as vaccine passports, are being developed around the world as a way to quickly prove someone’s vaccination status, particularly with private companies. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott holds a press conference in Dallas on unaccompanied minors crossing the southern border on March 17, 2021.]()
Credit: Carly May for The Texas Tribune -
It will take more than a pandemic to stop Tim League and the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema: “I’m going to fight like hell”
Although the iconic theater chain is facing bankruptcy, League is optimistic about the future of his Texas-born business. Listen in the weekend edition of The Brief podcast. Full Story
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![The closed-down Alamo Drafthouse Ritz Theater in Downtown Austin on March 31, 2021. Alamo Drafthouse filed for bankruptcy ea…]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune
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