In their latest effort to remind Washington how much they hate federal health reform, House lawmakers gave early approval tonight to one measure to hold “Obamacare” at bay and deflected, at least temporarily, another that is directed at the individual mandate for health insurance.
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
Video: Cecile Richards Visits Capitol, Defends Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards, a native Texan and daughter of former Gov. Ann Richards, visited the Capitol on Wednesday to defend funding for womens’ health services.
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Health care
House Gives Early OK to Dental Bill
House lawmakers gave an early OK tonight to a measure that would stop health insurance plans from requiring dentists to agree to discounted fees for services not covered by the policy. The bill has already passed the Senate.
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Health care
Hospitals to Budget Conferees: Cuts Hit Us Too Hard
Texas hospitals have a pointed message for the lawmakers hashing out the final details of the 2012-13 budget: The proposed cuts hit them too hard.
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Health care
John Mendelsohn: The TT Interview
Dr. John Mendelsohn, the outgoing president of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, discusses the significance of budget cuts for his institutions, the value of public research and his advice for his successor.
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Health care
Update: Planned Parenthood Rallies Against Funding Cuts
At a Capitol press conference this morning, Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and daughter of the late Texas Gov. Ann Richards, said her organization is under siege by GOP lawmakers.
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Health care
Despite Uproar, State Lawmakers Pursue Medicare Overhaul
Across the nation, U.S. House Republicans are getting an earful from their constituents about a GOP budget proposal to overhaul federal Medicare. But that message hasn’t made its way to Texas, where state lawmakers are still angling to take control of the program.
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Health care
Elderly, Disabled Fight Pay Cut to Service Providers
Advocates for the elderly and disabled are fighting a proposal in the Legislature that they say would reduce the wages of the personal care attendants who provide services through the Medicaid Community-Based Alternatives waiver program.
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Health care
House Gives First OK to Medicaid Waiver Plan
House lawmakers have given an early okay to Rep. Lois Kolkhorst’s bill to ask Washington for a block grant to run Medicaid — the joint state-federal health care program for children, the disabled and the very poor — as Texas sees fit.
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Health care
Is David Dewhurst Goofy — or Goofy Like a Fox?
It’s funny that you can win four statewide elections and still have people think you’re a goofball, in over your head. But maybe Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst’s fumbles leading to the Texas Senate’s budget vote give the lie to that. Maybe he’s goofy like a fox.