Eliminating funds for family planning services is not a responsible or compassionate choice. It will shift the burden of care to our already overloaded local hospitals and leave the women who depend on these services with few options.
Health care
In-depth reporting on public health, healthcare policy, hospitals, and wellness issues shaping communities across Texas, from The Texas Tribune.
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Health care
Guest Column: The Case Against Family Planning Funding
At a time when we are scouring the budget and questioning every expenditure, when funding for essential services like public education must be reduced, it is time to stop subsidizing abortion providers under the guise of “family planning.”
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Economy
A Businesslike Budget, After a Fashion
When Texas lawmakers said they wanted to run government like a business, they left out the part about using Enron and Countrywide as their models.
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Health care
Smoking Ban Officially Snuffed?
Hope for a smoke-free Texas seems officially snuffed. State Sen. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, said today that a statewide smoking ban would not live on as an amendment to Senate Bill 1811.
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Health care
Women’s Health Program Still Stands, but Questions Linger
The Women’s Health Program — long believed to require legislative renewal — lives on, at least for now, in the form of a budget rider.
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Health care
For Some Republicans, Federal Action is Payback
State Sen. Dan Patrick says he knows why the federal government has intervened on two key bills facing Texas lawmakers in the final days of the legislative session: “retribution.” But is it that simple?
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Health care
Budget Notes: School Finance Remains the Key
Lawmakers made progress today on solving the current budget deficit but still haven’t solved the major problem in the 2012-13 budget: school finance.
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Health care
Kolkhorst Throws Herself a Life Raft on Heath Care Compact Bill
Rep. Lois Kolkhorst threw herself a life raft tonight, attaching her Health Care Compact bill — a measure that would seek to give Texas control of the purse strings for Medicare and Medicaid — onto a Senate health care bill that the House passed on third reading.
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Health care
Kolkhorst Holding Nelson’s Health Bill Hostage
Rep. Lois Kolkhorst is holding Sen. Jane Nelson’s health reform bill hostage.
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Health care
For Clients of Perry’s Advisers, a Troubling State Budget
Gov. Rick Perry has delivered his fiscal message loud and clear: Balance the cash-strapped state budget with cuts, not with the Rainy Day Fund or new taxes. Yet some of his most loyal advisers, past and future, are representing clients beating a very different drum.