Three strategies can move Texas in the right direction, health-wise: a statewide indoor smoking ban, statewide universal K-12 coordinated school health programs, and the serious consideration of all available options to reduce the number of uninsured Texans.
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: Save Rural Health Care Now
Why the 85 percent of Texans in and near urban areas should be concerned about the health care needs of the 15 percent who don’t.
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Health care
The Prescription: An Austin Eye Doctor’s View
Members of Congress are working to reconcile two massive health care bills that Texas doctors say will affect their practices and their patients. As part of his continuing exploration of how the effort to rewrite health care policy is playing here, KUT’s Nathan Bernier talked to an eye doctor in North Austin.
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Health care
The Prescription: A Small-Town Doc’s Take on Health Care Reform
As Congress wrestles with the fine print of massive health care legislation, doctors in Texas say both their practices and their patients will be affected. Nathan Bernier reports for KUT News from Athens, about three hours northeast of Austin, where a doctor reveals the unique challenges of providing care in a small town.
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Health care
Rural Doctors in Their Own Words
Rural health care providers in West Texas talk about the unique challenges they face in treating their patients.
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Health care
No Country For Health Care, Part 4: Rural Recruitment
In rural counties, recruiting doctors is the single biggest health care challenge. Twenty-seven counties have no primary care physicians.
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Health care
No Country For Health Care, Part 3: Shrinking Rural Ranks
It’s no time to be an advocate for rural health care. Rural lawmakers say they’re consistently outnumbered and under-represented — and that redistricting will only make matters worse.
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Health care
TribBlog: Still Seeking Sustenance
The state is working to get poor Texans food stamps quicker, but it’s not fast enough for many families, and too many children are getting their only hot meal at school, according to Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid.
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Health care
No Country For Health Care, Part 2: The Trauma Hole
Emergency medicine doctors say trauma victims must receive care within the “golden hour” to survive. But many rural Texas counties aren’t anywhere near hospitals that can handle complex injuries or illness.
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Health care
No Country For Health Care, Part 1: Far From Care
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.