The latest health care news from The Texas Tribune.
More than one in five Texas voters say most of the people they know would not vote for a Mormon presidential candidate even if they agreed with him or her on the issues, according to the new University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll. Full Story
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The GOP congressman from Lubbock on Gov. Rick Perry, cuts in direct payments that could be headed for Texas farmers, his hopes for the supercommittee and what the 2012 elections will say about Americans' view of the economy. Full Story
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Though Gov. Rick Perry's economic speech today is expected to focus on his proposal for a national flat tax, as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, the governor is also expected to push for a balanced-budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Full Story
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The sweeping medical lawsuit reforms of 2003 had two demonstrable effects: Doctors, hospitals and malpractice insurers got richer; and many contingent fee lawyers were put out of business. Which was exactly what proponents of the reforms wanted. Full Story
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Since the passage of sweeping medical lawsuit reforms in 2003, liability insurance rates have plummeted, doctors have flocked to our state in record numbers and nursing homes and hospitals are again operational. That's good for patients — and good for Texas. Full Story
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At last Thursday's TribLive conversation, Comptroller Susan Combs talked about the health of the Texas economy, her agency's data breach, her shifting position on abortion and more. Full Story
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More than two years after Texas leaders signed a federal agreement to improve care at the state’s institutions, not even a quarter of its terms have been met and mistreatment is still commonplace. Full Story
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Health educators and advocates gathered at the Capitol yesterday to talk about what they call the problem of teen pregnancy in Texas. The state has the third highest teen birth rate in the nation, and the second highest rate of repeat teen pregnancy. As KUT’s Matt Largey reports, it’s also an expensive problem for taxpayers. Full Story
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The House's interim charges are out, starting with instructions to everyone to consider ways to improve the state's manufacturing capability and increase the "transparency, accountability, and efficiency" in state government. Full Story
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The sweeping medical lawsuit reforms of 2003 had two demonstrable effects: Doctors, hospitals and malpractice insurers got richer; and many contingent fee lawyers were put out of business. Which was exactly what proponents of the reforms wanted. Full Story
Since the passage of sweeping medical lawsuit reforms in 2003, liability insurance rates have plummeted, doctors have flocked to our state in record numbers and nursing homes and hospitals are again operational. That's good for patients — and good for Texas. Full Story
House Speaker Joe Straus has released the interim charges that will direct the work of the lower chamber's legislative committees for the next 11 months — and lawmakers will be busy. Full Story
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At this morning's TribLive conversation, Comptroller Susan Combs talked about her late-in-life switch from pro-choice to pro-life and the impact of cutting family planning funding. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry "hates" cervical cancer, which is why he tried to make the HPV vaccine mandatory. Yet he signed a budget that defunds Planned Parenthood, which provides four times more cervical cancer screenings in Texas than abortions. Full Story
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The state's family planning reductions hit the Planned Parenthood Association of Hidalgo County especially hard. In September, the association shut down four of its eight health clinics and laid off half of its staff. Anti-abortion advocates argue the state should not "subsidize the abortion industry." The Trib's Thanh Tan and Justin Dehn report from Hidalgo County. Full Story
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Aaronson interactively asks if stimulus funds created jobs in Texas, Aguilar on new voter registrar rules that could decrease voter turnout, Galbraith on a UT professor's debunking of climate change "myths," Grissom on an epic clash of El Paso political titans, Hamilton on the right's new higher ed guru, Murphy maps household data from the 2010 Census, Ramsey on a coming rules fight in the Texas Senate, Root and M. Smith on Rick Perry's performance at the New Hampshire debate and M. Smith talks public ed cuts with the state's Superintendent of the Year: The best of our best content from October 10-14, 2011. Full Story
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Behind every politician there are men and women working in the wings, who can make calls, fix problems, raise money, punish enemies. In Rick Perry’s world, one man stands above them all: Mike Toomey. Full Story
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Some independent pharmacies may have to lay off workers and cut services because of looming lower dispensing fees. Beginning in March, a new managed-care plan will reduce the amount pharmacies receive for Medicaid prescriptions. Full Story
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On Friday, Gov. Rick Perry spoke at the Family Research Council's annual "Values Voters Summit" in Washington. Watch his remarks, courtesy of C-SPAN. (Note: The speech begins in progress due to a signal loss.) Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry's presidential campaign has produced an online attack ad aimed at Mitt Romney, accusing him of providing a blueprint for President Barack Obama's federal health care reform plan with the program he signed into law as governor of Massachusetts. Full Story
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