Texas’ recent unwinding of Medicaid and CHIP has been criticized, dropping more than a million people eligible for the health insurance programs. Decades ago, Texas officials got kids health insurance in record time.
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
First human case of bird flu in Texas detected after contact with infected dairy cattle
The person had contact with infected cattle, state health officials said. It’s the second recorded human case in the U.S.
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Health care
Texas woman charged with murder for self-induced abortion sues Starr County district attorney
The Starr County district attorney dropped the improper charges, but the fallout “forever changed the Plaintiff’s life,” a new federal lawsuit says.
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Demographics
Migrants with disabilities struggle to access the U.S. asylum system, advocates say
The CBP One phone app, which most migrants use to begin the U.S. asylum process, isn’t accessible to those who are blind, deaf, have mobility issues, or have intellectual disabilities, according to a complaint.
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Health care
A woman’s fight to escape the hospital shows Medicaid’s limits for disabled Texans
Staffing shortages and mismanaged care can delay when Texans on some Medicaid programs are discharged from hospitals. This can cost the state more and take a toll on patients and caregivers.
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Health care
Taking a cue from the pews, Texas churches expanding mental health services
Many Texas faith groups have offered counseling services in the past. But more of them are expanding their programs, partnering with providers, to help meet the growing need here for mental health services.
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Rural reproductive health in Texas
U.S. Supreme Court takes up Texas case challenging abortion pill access
A majority of Supreme Court justices seemed open to keeping mifepristone, a common abortion-inducing drug, on the market despite a Texas ruling revoking its FDA approval.
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Health care
Texas Medical Board proposes new guidance for abortion medical exceptions
The guidance was disappointing to reproductive rights advocates who were seeking more specificity and a list of conditions that could qualify.
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Health care
Texas libraries work to bridge state’s mental health services gap
Information-rich public libraries are using their websites and facilities to address the ever-increasing demand for counseling, housing and substance abuse services.
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Economy
New EPA rule to slash cancer-causing emissions from sterilization facilities
Laredo residents who live near a sterilization plant say the new federal limits on the pollutant will improve air quality and reduce their city’s high cancer risk.