The latest health care news from The Texas Tribune.
Fewer Texans will receive food stamps in December than in November, but the number is still up overall since 2005 as the national recession continues. Our updated interactive map allows you to explore the number of food stamp recipients in your county and the economic impact of the program. Full Story
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Aaronson maps the growth of poverty in Texas, Aguilar on the suicide of an illegal immigrant, Galbraith on the prospect of more rolling blackouts, Grissom on a prosecutor's memory lapse, Hamilton on the prospect of public universities undergoing a sunset review, Murphy's latest awesome redistricting interactive, Ramsey on a stumbling start to the 2012 election season, Root on Rick Perry's latest populist tirade, M. Smith on the boom in for-profit teacher certification programs and Tan on the fight against cervical cancer in ... Africa: The best of our best content from November 28 to December 2, 2011. Full Story
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At Thursday's TribLive conversation, state Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, offered his take on issues he'd face if elected to Congress next year, including same-sex marriage, Afghanistan, taxing the rich and health reform. Full Story
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Children in foster care are several times more likely to be prescribed psychotropic drugs, according to a new Government Accountability Office report on five states. As Matt Largey of KUT News reports, investigators found high rates of potentially risky practices in Texas. Full Story
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Experts speculate that a key factor in the increase in reports of child abuse and neglect is the struggling economy. The number of reported cases of abuse has grown 6 percent in Texas since 2008, before the recession. Full Story
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Root and Tan on the restoration of the Governor's Mansion and on the Perrys' expensive replacement digs, E. Smith's TribLive interview with three freshman legislators in El Paso, M. Smith on tough financial standards for local school districts, Ramshaw and Murphy on Texas docs paid by drug companies, yours truly on new congressional and legislative redistricting maps, Hamilton on the biggest competitive endeavor in Brownsville's schools and Aguilar on how border mayors feel about military equipment in their cities: The best of our best content from November 21 to 25, 2011. Full Story
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Thousands of Texas doctors, researchers and medical experts — including more than 100 who are employed by the state and are paid with taxpayer dollars — routinely supplement their salaries with income from pharmaceutical companies. Full Story
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Use our interactive — culled from ProPublica's Dollars for Docs data and the Tribune's Government Employee Salary Database — to see which Texas state employees are also on the payroll of drug companies. Full Story
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Aaronson on the sharp rise in the number of Texans on food stamps, Aguilar investigates the Black Market Peso Exchange, Grissom on the humbling of John Bradley, Hamilton on the tweet heard round the world, Ramsey and Murphy on the newest redistricting maps, Ramsey on why Formula 1 screeched to a halt, Ramshaw and Tan scrutinize Rick Perry's attack on congressional insider trading, Root on Perry's plan for a "part-time citizen Congress" and M. Smith on already ugly State Board of Ed races: The best of our best content from November 14-18, 2011. Full Story
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The number of Texans receiving food aid has increased by nearly 1.4 million in the last four years. Use this interactive to see the percentage of each county's population that receives food assistance and the economic impact of the federal funds. Full Story
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Despite an increase in state spending on mental health care, Texas still ranks last in per capita funding for people with mental illness, according to a report issued by the National Alliance of Mental Illness. Full Story
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As a Texas governor and presidential candidate, Rick Perry has repeatedly turned to the marketplace for policy solutions to health care and retirement security. But as a private citizen, Perry has generally relied on the government. Full Story
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Judges have been telling legislators what to do since we set up government to replace knife fights and bar brawls. And legislators use the courts to make them do unpopular but necessary things that voters don't like. School finance, for instance. Full Story
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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
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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