The latest health care news from The Texas Tribune.
Dozens of rural Texas counties have no primary care doctors, no hospitals, no pharmacies. Many Texans live more than an hour from basic medical care. And some border communities have so little health care that U.S. citizens cross over into Mexico to get it. Full Story
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Moises Badillo talks about his struggle to get health care for his profoundly disabled son in a rural community in Van Horn. Full Story
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Roll your own political videos ... interactive travel maps of your federal and state legislators ... scary movies, to keep the kids out of the border's scary drug wars ... puttting dropouts back in class ... rates squeezing families out of home health care ... how many lobby and trade associations do teachers in Texas need? ... enjoying the silence before an expected two-month siege of political advertising ... the dean of Texas political writers gets shut out of the gubernatorial debates ... and we have an interactive database of the state's best and worst public schools. The best of our best for a short news week, from December 19 to 26, 2009. Full Story
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We added more people this year than any other state — more than Florida, Arizona, California, Nevada and Colorado combined. Full Story
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The Department of State Health Services will destroy all blood samples taken from infants before May 27, 2009 to settle a lawsuit over the state's newborn screening program. Full Story
Families of disabled Texans fear an increase in home nursing rates could force them to cut services for their loved ones. Full Story
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Stiles and Thevenot collaborate on the salaries paid to superintendents, and even compare them on price per student… Ramsey’s look at redistricting and next year’s elections… Aguilar’s report on jails, brought to you by the federal agency that’s in the ag business… Rapoport’s peek at the power behind Texas pre-kindergarten programs… Smith’s conversation with Dan Patrick, in three parts… Grissom’s narrative on a circular immigration and deportation route financed by two governments… Ramshaw finds doctors agreeing on public policy and split on strategy and tactics… Hu’s latest Stump Interrupted puts the camera on Farouk Shami… Hamilton’s story on two retired cops who are taking on cargo theft in Texas… And Kreighbaum and Stiles pop open the itineraries of your folks in Congress. The best of our best from December 12 to 18, 2009. Full Story
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Medical malpractice liability caps Texas lawmakers installed in 2003 have failed to improve the state's health care system, according to a Public Citizen report released today. Full Story
In the political posturing over health care reform, the Texas Medical Association and the American Medical Association stand divided. Full Story
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The home health care cuts that Congress will likely make to fund federal health care reform will take an extra large swipe at Texas. Full Story
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In the health care debate, universal coverage has significant if not overwhelming support, but is also marked by pronounced partisan differences, and Texans appeared truly split down the middle on the “public option.” Full Story
Stiles and Babalola's long-awaited red-light camera data app. Grissom's two-parter on a powerful Texan's quest to change the DPS report on the crash that killed his son. Ramshaw's two-parter on transitional medicine. Thevenot on the charter school queue. And a ton of political news: KBH filed (but our TribCasters wondered about her path to the GOP nod); Debra Medina filed (and Hamilton tried to sort out what effect she'll have on the race); Farouk Shami defiantly remained in the Democratic primary (but Hu couldn't find evidence that he'd voted very often, let alone like a Democrat); and Rick Perry sent personalized messages to every Tom, Dick, and fill-in-the-blank. The best of our best from December 7 to 11, 2009 Full Story
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Benjamin Ligums was born with a rare degenerative brain disease that left him immobile, non-verbal and legally blind. His family has found a second home at Baylor's Transition Medicine Clinic, which specializes in treating profoundly disabled young adults. Full Story
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When kids with disabilities transfer from children’s Medicaid to the adult program, they lose services, health care and medical expertise. A few committed doctors and social workers are stepping in to ease the transition. Full Story
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The Texas Departments of Family and Protective Services and State Health Services are launching a "Room to Breathe" campaign to educate parents about the dangers of co-sleeping, a controversial subject that they appear to be approaching with caution. Full Story
First Lady Anita Perry is speaking out against new breast cancer screening recommendations made by a federal task force last month. Full Story
Pending food-stamp applications have soared in Texas — from about 38,000 a year ago to more than 65,000 in October. Two-thirds of those people had waited longer than the federally mandated 30 days, and nearly half had waited more than 60 days. Full Story
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If you're checking off the boxes for gubernatorial candidates, Thursday belonged to Gov. Rick Perry, who filed for reelection before noon on the first day he was allowed to do so. Full Story
It was a political week, with a full-court press from our staff on Bill White's switch to the governor's race and all of the fallout; the moves during the first week of filing for political races; Philpott's look at Republicans challenging Republicans; Hu's latest in the popular Stump Interrupted series; Ramshaw on emergency rooms, family doctors, and child protection; Stiles and Grissom mapping payday lending locations juxtaposed with family income data; Rapoport on the state budget and education; Thevenot on KBH's plans for schools; and Hamilton on the power (or not) of political endorsements. The best of the best from November 28 to December 4, 2009. Full Story
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A shortage of a particular sort of medical care could have a far-reaching effect on the state’s economy — in a very unexpected way. Full Story
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