Long an opponent of vaccine and mask mandates, the Republican said pharmaceutical companies may have misrepresented data. Pfizer strongly disagrees.
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
Pandemic Medicaid coverage is ending. Here’s what that means for people using Medicaid health benefits.
Texas is reviewing the eligibility of people on Medicaid health plans or Healthy Texas Women now that pandemic Medicaid coverage is ending. Here’s what that means, how to renew your health coverage or find other options if you no longer qualify.
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LGBTQ+ Texans
“A death sentence”: Trans Texas teen plots his future as proposed ban on hormone therapy progresses
As Texas House members could soon vote to ban transition-related care for minors, many lives are in limbo, and trans kids like 16-year-old Randell are grappling with difficult decisions.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Protesters decry stalled fentanyl test strip bill; Texas House passes get-tough criminal penalties
Stuck in committee, the test-strip legislation has support from Gov. Greg Abbott and bipartisan lawmakers, who see it as a way to save lives.
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Texas Legislature 2023
House passes bill to rein in “rogue” prosecutors
The legislation is in response to elected prosecutors in Texas’ large, left-leaning counties who have said they will not prosecute abortion cases.
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Texas Legislature 2023
When it comes to upping mental health services, Texas has a Medicaid problem
Texas wants to expand mental health services, but many mental health providers do not accept Medicaid because of its lower payment rate.
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LGBTQ+ Texans
Transgender Texans of all ages could lose access to transition-related care under Senate bill
The Senate advanced a bill that could create such high financial risks for doctors and health insurers that they’d stop providing or covering gender-affirming care — even for adults.
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Asking to be Heard
After months of struggle, Korean language access advocates find their voice at a legislative hearing
In a key step on their quest to make state services more easily available to non-English speakers, advocates from Houston’s Woori Juntos community group testified before a panel of lawmakers.
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Health care
For migrant children who cross the border alone, a new set of challenges getting health care awaits
A report from the Migration Policy Institute and the American Academy of Pediatrics details the barriers undocumented children face in the United States.
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Texas Abortion Restrictions
Supreme Court leaves abortion drug on the market, for now
The legal challenge to mifepristone now returns to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.