The latest health care news from The Texas Tribune.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is increasingly at the center of efforts in the U.S. Senate to overhaul the Affordable Care Act. Some conservative activists are hoping Cruz can help move the bill to the right. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday called a special session of the Texas Legislature starting July 18. Abbott said that after legislators address a bill to keep some state agencies from shuttering, he'll add another 19 items to the agenda. Full Story
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Did the Texas Legislature boost funding for border security? What about public education? Did they dip into the Rainy Day Fund? Here’s a wide-angle look at what's in the $217 billion budget the two chambers ultimately settled on. Full Story
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U.S. Sen. John Cornyn predicted a new GOP health care overhaul would pass Congress by the end of July. Full Story
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Two days after the end of the legislative session, Gov. Greg Abbott held a public ceremony to sign four major child welfare bills into law. Full Story
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Texas legislators cast final votes Sunday evening on a pair of bills overhauling how the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services works with and finds homes for abused and neglected children. Full Story
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The House grudgingly voted to accept the Senate's supplemental budget proposal, which would not restore funding for disabled children's therapy services. Full Story
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Texas senators voted Friday to send a bill banning the most common second-trimester abortion procedure and changing how health care facilities handle fetal remains to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. Full Story
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Lawmakers cut a $3 million initiative to help victims of sex trafficking, ending child welfare advocates' hopes that 2017 would be the year they would finally see funds set aside to help children who had been sold for sex. Full Story
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Both chambers passed bills on Tuesday aimed at curbing postpartum depression and the alarming rise in Texas mothers dying less than a year after giving birth. Full Story
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In this week's edition of the Trib+Health newsletter: Texas lawmakers consider making it easier to get experimental drug treatments, using 3D printers to treat infertility and an interview with Zoltan Nadasdy of the University of Texas at Austin. Full Story
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Supporters of House Bill 3236 say it could get experimental drugs into terminally ill patients’ hands, but its detractors say it would encourage snake oil salesmen. Full Story
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A bill slated to hit the Texas House floor on Tuesday would bar hospitals and health plans from differentiating between physicians who have undergone a widely-used recertification process and those who haven't. Full Story
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Texas senators unanimously approved a bill that would make the Department of Family and Protective Services its own standalone department. Full Story
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Pro-business forces, which had for months warned that a "bathroom bill" could be disastrous for the state's bottom line, held their fire during Sunday's debate over a bill amendment dealing with the controversial issue. Full Story
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Texas senators voted unanimously on Monday to increase money given to kinship care families. Full Story
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Texas state senators voted to allow child welfare providers to be protected from legal retaliation if they assert their “sincerely held religious beliefs.” Full Story
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GOP House lawmakers took a sweeping approach to anti-abortion legislation on Friday, passing a measure that would ban the most common form of second-trimester procedure and change how health care providers dispose of fetal remains. Full Story
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The Texas House on Thursday passed a package of sweeping measures aimed at addressing a crisis in the state's child welfare system. Full Story
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Legislation that would crowdfund money from Texans to deal with a state backlog of thousands of untested rape kits has moved closer to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk. Full Story
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