It’s hard to believe the governor saw this coming. When Rick Perry decided to replace the a board on the eve of a hearing about the evidence that sent a Texas man to the executioner, he couldn’t have been thinking the story would grow legs and stomp all around his bid for reelection.
Health care
In-depth reporting on public health, healthcare policy, hospitals, and wellness issues shaping communities across Texas, from The Texas Tribune.
Posted in
Demographics
Keeping Count
Texas should create a committee to promote participation in the 2010 U.S. Census, state Rep. Mike Villarreal told Gov. Rick Perry in a letter Tuesday.
Posted in
Health care
Is there a doctor on the line?
Emergency medical technicians and entry-level nurses could be cut out of the telemedicine equation under a proposal the Texas Medical Board is considering. The change would prohibit anyone but doctors, physicians’ assistants and advanced practice nurses from presenting patients for care via long-distance videoconferencing – a move rural hospitals and prison doctors adamantly oppose.
Posted in
Health care
Changing the Odds
Signing anti-tax pledges — as both of the leading Republican candidates for governor have now done — warms the hearts of gambling promoters. Not because Rick Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchison suddenly become proponents of casino gambling, but because gambling often gets stuck in a threesome with program cuts and tax increases and that setup is what made it legal to bet on bingo, horses, dogs, and the lottery in Texas.
Posted in
Economy
States struggling to fund Medicaid
States are struggling mightily to fund Medicaid services in one the deepest recessions in recent history, according to a 50-state health care study released by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. States, many of them strapped by budget shortfalls, overwhelmingly reported being saved by the federal stimulus package, and said without it, they would have been forced to make serious cuts in Medicaid eligibility.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
State technology chief resigns
The executive director of the state’s data and information technology agency stepped down last month. Brian Rawson, who spent the last three years overseeing the state’s data consolidation and telecommunications efforts for the Department of Information Resources, will run “statewide data initiatives” for the Texas Education Agency.
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Health care
Just Another Day at the Office
Remember the cartoons where the sheepdog and the coyote would meet at the time clock every morning, say hello, ask about the families, punch in, harass each other all day, then greet each other pleasantly as they punched out for the evening?
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Health care
Crunch Time
You get the feeling that this legislative session is just like the last one, run in reverse. Instead of starting with a whimper and closing with a bang, it started with a bang. It shows no signs of ending with one.
Posted in
Health care
Have You Ever Been Mellow?
If you’re not under pressure, the House is sort of an interesting Petri dish right now.
Posted in
Health care
Money’s Not the Only Thing
Coming soon to a House near you: The first real look at how this bunch votes on tough issues.