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.
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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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.
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Health care
Texas House moves to expand Medicaid coverage to new moms for a year after childbirth
New moms would be able to maintain their health insurance for up to a year after childbirth under the proposal, which also passed the House last session. The Senate previously reduced it to just six months of coverage.
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Asking to be Heard
As the legislative clock ticks, Houston language advocates angle for a committee hearing
The window is closing for Woori Juntos in its pursuit of legislation to improve language access to state health programs.