The latest health care news from The Texas Tribune.
Fetal tissue used for scientific research tops the list of topics Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has asked Texas senators on the Health and Human Services Committee to study before the Legislature reconvenes in 2017. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/06/04/UP9A7263.jpg)
A recent high-profile battle over funding therapy services for poor and disabled kids has been cast as budget-ax-wielding lawmakers against suffering children. But there's plenty at stake for some for-profit companies as well. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/09/28/Medicaid-Capitol-3.jpg)
In this week's edition of the Trib+Health newsletter: A couple of new health partnerships are announced for North Texas, a study shows exercise alone might not be enough to ward off heart failure and an interview with Dianna Milewicz of the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/03/03/Trib-Plus-Health-leadart002.jpg)
In Austin on Monday, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn promoted federal legislation that would require mental health checks before denying anyone the ability to purchase firearms. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/09/20/TribFest_Cornyn0131.jpg)
The Texas Supreme Court agreed Friday morning to review a state tax on small cigarette manufacturers, known collectively as "Small Tobacco." Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Cigarettes-Sky.jpg)
Check out "God & Life" — part 3 of our "God & Governing" documentary-style series — to see how lawmakers' personal faith guides the abortion fight in the Texas Legislature. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/10/05/TT-god-lead-life.png)
In the 2015 Texas legislative session, state lawmakers weren't shy about using their religious beliefs to defend their policymaking. Check out "God & Governing," our documentary series on the role lawmakers' personal faith played in their legislating. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/10/05/TT-god-lead-overview.png)
The U.S. Supreme Court is back in session, and the upcoming term will feature at least two cases from Texas — if not more. The justices will look at voting rights, UT-Austin admissions and — maybe — the state's new abortion restrictions. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/07/01/TexasSupremeCourt.jpg)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a request from a coalition of abortion providers to take up their legal challenge to the state’s strict abortion restrictions. Full Story
Wait times to get an abortion in Texas have grown in some metropolitan areas, a trend that could be felt statewide if the Supreme Court allows the strictest provision of the state’s 2013 abortion law to take effect. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/04/02/San_Antonio_ASC.jpg)
Following an outcry from dozens of state lawmakers, Texas’ top health agency announced Thursday it will make less drastic cuts than originally planned to a therapy program for children with disabilities, even if that means spending more than lawmakers budgeted for the program. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/03/07/MedicaidTexas.jpg)
Starting Thursday, most U.S. health care providers must switch to a new system of computer codes for recording patient ailments. Opinions are mixed about the changes, but they are clearly fueling a greater demand for medical scribes, who focus on entering patient data. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/09/30/2015-09-303.jpg)
Amid an ongoing lawsuit over deep cuts made by lawmakers this year to a therapy program for children with disabilities, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Wednesday offered a sternly worded defense of the Legislature’s move. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/06/04/7C2A7556.jpg)
Texas has the second-highest number of families living in public housing with incomes as much as $250,000 above the income limits to get in, according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/09/29/Low_income_housing.jpg)
After shuttering last year in light of the state’s heightened abortion regulations, an embattled El Paso abortion provider is set to reopen on Tuesday. How long it will last depends on the U.S. Supreme Court. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/07/22/Protesters-Split.jpg)
In this week's edition of the Trib+Health newsletter: A furor over a drug company's price hike spurs reversal in course, sports concussions may be underreported in Texas and an interview with Steven Kelder of the University of Texas School of Public Health. Full Story
Following a directive from the Legislature, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission announced Wednesday that it would combine two of the state's main women’s health programs to create the “Healthy Texas Women” program on July 1. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/07/17/TXT-Clinic-CCR009.jpg)
On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Evan, Patrick and Edgar about the latest shakeup on the presidential campaign trail, legal action over Medicaid rate cuts and Wendy Davis' interview with Rolling Stone magazine. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/03/11/TT-tribcast2015-1024x680-final.jpg)
It's been one year since Thomas Eric Duncan lay sick with Ebola at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, and the tug of war between fear and science continues. But hospitals say lessons learned have allowed them to better prepare for the next Ebola. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/10/01/EbolaTexas_1.jpg)
Deep cuts to a therapy program for poor and disabled children will not take effect Oct. 1, a state district judge ruled Tuesday afternoon — the second such delay in recent weeks. Full Story