Texas Medicaid caregivers’ wages were already near the poverty level. But parents whose sole income came from taking care of their disabled children have now lost their ability to work overtime hours.
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
Texas highways are the next anti-abortion target. One town is resisting.
Even in conservative corners of Texas, efforts to crack down on abortion travel are meeting resistance with some local officials who support Texas’s strict abortion laws, expressing concern that the efforts go too far.
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LGBTQ+ Texans
Texas ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for trans kids will go into effect despite legal fight
The state attorney general’s office appealed a state district court injunction that said the new prohibitions deprive trans kids of “necessary, safe, and effective medical treatment.”
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New Texas Laws 2023
New Texas law increases hospital notice before removing patients from life support
Medical professionals now must tell families 25 days in advance before ending care. Some groups wish the state gave families even more power when they disagree with a doctor’s prognosis.
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Health care
Dangers and deaths around Black pregnancies in Texas seen as a “completely preventable” health crisis
Despite a vast array of health resources, Black infants in Harris County are about twice as likely to die before their first birthday as those from other racial groups.
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New Texas Laws 2023
Texas can now apply to import lower-priced Canadian medications
Texas joins a handful of states turn to the north for cheaper drugs. But feds have been slow to approve requests, three years after giving initial OK.
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New Texas Laws 2023
This new law will help health care workers save lives in ambulances that cover wide-open West Texas
The emerging technology, paid for by a grant established during the 2023 legislative session, will help emergency health care workers talk with doctors in emergency rooms to better care for critical patients.
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New Texas Laws 2023
Will Texas’ new fentanyl awareness curriculum for public schools succeed where other anti-drug messaging failed?
Historically, anti-drug messaging in schools has failed to acknowledge the mental health reasons that youth self-medicate. Without that key lesson, advocates worry House Bill 3908 will be another D.A.R.E. campaign.
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Health care
For deaf children in Texas foster care, limited accessibility compounds trauma
Advocates say better accounting of deaf and hard-of-hearing children in the state’s care and better access to translators are needed.
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LGBTQ+ Texans
Legal fight over Texas law banning transgender health care for youth centers on whether treatments help or hurt
Texas families and health care providers sued the state over Senate Bill 14, which restricts transgender youth from accessing gender-affirming care. The groups are requesting an injunction from a state district court judge before the law goes into effect on Sept. 1.