Lawmaker Slams Recommendation to Close Living Centers
State Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, says a Sunset Advisory Commission staff recommendation to close six state-supported living centers is "inaccurate" and "slanted." Full Story
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The latest health care news from The Texas Tribune.
State Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, says a Sunset Advisory Commission staff recommendation to close six state-supported living centers is "inaccurate" and "slanted." Full Story
Crystal Davis' nightmare didn't end when her husband died in a traffic accident on the way to work. Her husband's workers' compensation insurance carrier has sued her and her children to deny them the benefits she thought would protect them. Full Story
Political rhetoric aside, uncertainty remains on the larger impact of Monday's Hobby Lobby decision. Full Story
Republicans hailed a Monday Supreme Court ruling on contraceptive insurance, while reproductive-rights activists decried it as an invitation for employers to interfere with women’s access to birth control. Full Story
When Santiago Arias fell off of an industrial warehouse roof, an expert hired by his attorney called his job site one of the most hazardous he’d seen in 40 years as a safety engineer. But advocates for injured workers say Arias' case is far from unique. Full Story
Did Wendy Davis peak with the filibuster? Full Story
When Texans get hurt or killed on the job, they have some of the weakest protections and stingiest benefits in the country. Texas is the only U.S. state that doesn’t require any private employer to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Full Story
In light of a recent surge of undocumented immigrants crossing the state’s southern border, the state health department has sent 2,000 state-purchased flu vaccines to a federal shelter housing unaccompanied minors in South Texas. Full Story
On the eve of the Democratic state convention, Wendy Davis and friends commemorated the event that put the gubernatorial candidate on the national map. Full Story
Lawmakers considered a proposal to shutter six of Texas’ 13 state-supported living centers over two days of public hearings, renewing a long-simmering debate over the future of the state’s institutions for the disabled. Full Story
The state is considering a proposal to integrate its Division for Blind Services with other rehabilitation services. While lawmakers are largely supportive of a consolidation, advocates for the blind are voicing concerns. Full Story
Texas is considering doing away with the licensing of X-ray technicians and 11 other types of health professionals. Some say that would put patients at risk. A Sunset Commission hearing Wednesday is set to address the issue. Full Story
Dozens of Texas hospitals that receive Medicare dollars will likely be penalized for their rates of complications and infections during inpatient stays. Use our interactive map to see those hospitals and their ratings. Full Story
The Tribune's Reeve Hamilton has dropped the first in a three-part series tackling the timely topic of lawmakers writing recommendations on behalf of applicants to the University of Texas at Austin. Full Story
Unaccompanied children from Mexico and Central America who cross into Texas are evaluated by the U.S. Border Patrol and placed temporarily at detention centers. This is a list of the Office of Refugee Resettlement shelters that operate in Texas. Full Story
As the state's top elected officials debate how to halt a surge of immigrants across the border, health officials and volunteer doctors are voicing concerns over what they say is the more serious challenge: a looming medical crisis. Full Story
Texas politicians from across the political spectrum are weighing in on the surge of unaccompanied minors crowding detention facilities. Full Story
On Monday, 15 years after a U.S. Supreme Court decision that paved the way for some people with disabilities to move out of institutions, advocates for Texans with disabilities called on state lawmakers to speed up that process. Full Story
The discovery of a mass grave in Brooks County containing unidentified immigrants already has a couple of state lawmakers calling for an investigation of what happened. Full Story
State authorities are supposed to maintain a bilingual, 24-hour hotline for workers to report safety violations. Officials acknowledged Friday that the hotline has been inoperative after hours. Full Story