The latest health care news from The Texas Tribune.
As of Sept. 1, public employees — including state and county workers and public school teachers — will be guaranteed “reasonable accommodations” to pump breast milk in the workplace. This story is part of our 31 Days, 31 Ways series. Full Story
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Five years after Texas became the first state to permit freestanding emergency rooms, more than 160 have set up shop around the state — a presence that suburban commuters and health insurers alike are finding impossible to ignore. Full Story
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Starting Sept. 1, children in Texas foster care will get an ombudsman to help them navigate the system, find their caseworkers and report complaints. This story is part of our 31 Days, 31 Ways series. Full Story
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A Travis County prosecutor on Tuesday asked a jury to convict Jerry Cobbs, a former high-ranking official with the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, of securing an $11 million grant for a biotechnology firm “by fraud.” Full Story
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Under a new state law, law enforcement officials will be able to take children suspected to be sex trafficking victims immediately into protective custody instead of waiting for a court order. This story is part of our 31 Days, 31 Ways series. Full Story
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In this week's edition of the Trib+Health newsletter: Coca Cola is in hot water for backing controversial obesity study, rural Texas hospitals reach out to feds for funding help and an interview with Susan Hernandez of UT Southwestern University Hospitals. Full Story
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Moved by the story of an Amarillo family, legislators passed a new law that will guarantee parents the right to the remains of their stillborn children. This story is part of our 31 Days, 31 Ways series. Full Story
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In the Roundup: While GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry is facing money woes, fellow Texan Ted Cruz is looking to build on of his debate performance. Plus, Texas Republican lawmakers have succeeded in further limiting access to Planned Parenthood services. Full Story
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A state district judge who denied a request to keep six siblings — recently murdered in Houston — in foster care says he wasn’t provided enough evidence two years ago to keep the children removed from their family. Full Story
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A federal judge has given the state an Aug. 24 deadline to recognize same-sex marriages on death and birth certificates. Full Story
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Dozens of Texas counties lack even a single physician, and there are even more without psychiatrists. But one state lawmaker is trying to fix that by attracting more mental health care workers to rural Texas towns. Full Story
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A new whistleblower case accuses a Texas medical consulting firm and more than two dozen health plans for the elderly of ripping off Medicare. Full Story
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Relatives of children with disabilities and therapy providers are suing the Health and Human Services Commission, weeks before the agency is scheduled to slash payments to a therapy program for the poor. Full Story
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Nearly two years before the murder of six Houston siblings, a state district judge denied a request by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to keep them in foster care, according to a memo sent to members of the Legislature on Tuesday. Full Story
A new law will allow more consumers to challenge surprise medical bills they get from out-of-network doctors, but only if the charge is more than $500. This story is part of our 31 Days, 31 Ways series. Full Story
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Backing up two Texas religious universities, Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court Monday asking it to take up a lawsuit against the federal government over contraceptive coverage required under the Affordable Care Act. Full Story
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The six children found murdered along with two adults in Houston over the weekend were no strangers to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, which investigated at least four complaints about their care dating back 2011, and temporarily took the children into foster care two years later. Full Story
Months after he was put on paid administrative leave amid an investigation into the Texas Health and Human Services Commission's contracting procedures, Cody Cazares has left the agency. Full Story
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Poor, uninsured women in Texas will no longer be able to obtain government-subsidized breast and cervical cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood clinics starting Sept. 1. This story is part of our 31 Days, 31 Ways series. Full Story
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Before the state finalizes a decision next week that would slash payments for a therapy program for the poor, speech and physical therapists are fighting back, saying the impending budget cuts will harm thousands of children. Full Story
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