The Laredo congressman will support federal health care reform legislation.
Health care
In-depth reporting on public health, healthcare policy, hospitals, and wellness issues shaping communities across Texas, from The Texas Tribune.
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Grissom on the 1.2 million Texans who’ve lost their licenses under the Driver Responsibility Act and the impenetrable black box that is the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, Ramshaw and Kraft on nurses with substance abuse problems and rehabilitation that can get them back to work, M. Smith finds it’s not easy being Rick Green, Stiles on counting Texans (and everybody else), Rapoport on the State Board of Education’s war with itself and the runoff in SBOE District 10, Thevenot’s revealing interview with a big-city superintendent on closing bad schools, Aguilar on the tensions over water on the Texas-Mexico border, Hamilton on the new Coffee Party, Hu on Kesha Rogers and why her party doesn’t want her, Philpott on the runoff in HD-47, Ramsey on Bill White and the politics of taxes, and E. Smith’s conversation with Game Change authors Mark Halperin and John Heleimann: The best of our best from March 15 to 19.
TribBlog: Cuellar Still on the Fence
Laredo Congressman Henry Cuellar is one of the last undecided House members mulling over the federal health care bill. He still has a few concerns.
TribBlog: State Leaders To Congress: Vote Against Health Reform
Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus sent a firmly-worded letter to members of Congress today, urging them to vote against health care reform in Washington, or, as they dub it, “the federal government’s takeover of health care.” A vote is expected on Sunday.
RN Rehab
The thought of receiving care from a drug-addicted caregiver โ even a rehabilitated one โ makes many patients shudder. But Texas routinely gives nurses with substance abuse problems second chances. At any given time, 600 to 700 nurses are enrolled in a rehabilitation program intended to help them kick their addictions and get back to work.
Nursing a Habit
Texas nurses with substance abuse problems โ including showing up to work drunk or high, stealing narcotics meant for patients, and forging doctor signatures on prescriptions for pain-killers โ are often not punished for their acts for months or even years and continue to practice in the meantime, according to a Texas Tribune review of state disciplinary records.
TribBlog: Chet Says No
This week begins the final push to pass federal healthcare reform legislation, and the Democrats will have to do it without the help of U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco.
Texas Lands Millions for e-Health Records
Federal officials announced more than $162 million in health information technology grants today โ including $28.8 million to help the Texas Health and Human Services Commission make the switch to electronic medical records. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius described the funding, which went to 16 states as part of the federal stimulus act, in an afternoon press conference.
The Brief: March 15, 2010
The weekend slaughter in Mexico of two U.S. citizens with ties to the consulateโs office in Ciudad Juarez has sparked outrage from Washington, D.C. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have publicly condemned the attacks that left a pregnant consulate employee, her husband and a Mexican national dead.
Let the Counting Begin
Census Bureau questionnaires arrive at 8.4 million Texas homes this week. “Fill that sucker out,” the bureau’s regional director says, “so we don’t have to come and knock on your door.”


