The betting game has already begun on whether the budget battle between a more moderate Senate and a far stingier House will lead to a standoff — and a special session in the summer. The two budget committee chairmen refuse to say whether one body may have more sway than the other in the final outcome.
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
Some Dentists Bad-Mouth Anti-Cavity Bill
Some pediatric dentists are bad-mouthing a bill that would allow mobile dental clinics to be paid by Medicaid for sealing the teeth of low-income kids at school.
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Health care
To Some House Republicans, Family Planning = Abortion
Is “family planning” a euphemism for abortion? For many House Republicans, yes. It’s not that they don’t understand the difference — it’s that they don’t trust family planning clinics not to steer women toward abortions.
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Economy
Thousands Rally for Smaller Budget Cuts
Thousands of protesters chanted “They say, ‘Cut back.’ We say, ‘Fight back'” as they marched to the Capitol this afternoon to rally against proposed budget cuts.
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Health care
Updated: Will Hospitals Be Taxed to Prop Up Medicaid?
Talk has resumed in the Senate — albeit quietly — about a so-called quality assurance fee, a revenue generator that would effectively tax hospitals to prop up the state’s cash-strapped Medicaid program.
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Health care
Medical Board Bill Moves Out of Public Health
The House Public Health Committee put its stamp of approval this morning on a much-watered-down version of Rep. Fred Brown’s Texas Medical Board bill, a measure designed to protect doctors from unfounded complaints.
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Economy
Pitts Talks, Gently, of Adding Money to Budget
Less than two days after approving a state budget that cuts $23 billion from current spending, Rep. Jim Pitts says House leaders are already talking among themselves about how much more money they’d be willing to spend.
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Health care
Senate Leaders: Fix State Revenue Now or Pay Later
Texas need to address its structural deficit during the current session, or it will face even deeper financial problems in two years than it faces today, senate leaders said Tuesday afternoon.
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Health care
Study: Health Reform’s Effects On Texas
If federal health care reform stays on the books, it will help 5 million Texans get health insurance and increase state health care spending by roughly 10 percent in the next five years, according to the RAND Corporation.
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Health care
Updated: Hospitals, Advocates at Odds Over Preemie Bills
Lawmakers agree that curbing elective inductions of labor and so-called “convenience” cesarean sections would prevent premature births and save the state money. But how best to do it has left child welfare advocates and hospitals at odds.