Medicaid

Texas removes thousands of children from Medicaid each month due to red tape, records show

by Elizabeth Byrne

Most states check once a year whether children on Medicaid still qualify for the program. Texas checks more often, using an automated system that critics say leads to kids losing coverage even though they're still eligible. Full Story 

Texas Senate passes two-year budget with money for property tax cuts — but no plan for how to spend it

by Edgar Walters

The Senate budget also includes a $6.3 billion boost for public schools, about $4 billion of which would increase teachers’ and librarians’ annual salaries by $5,000. Full Story 

A federal safety net funds health care for uninsured Texans. Time is running short to negotiate its renewal.

by Edgar Walters

A federal program known as the 1115 waiver helps pay for the costs of providing health care to the uninsured. Advocates want the Texas Legislature to order a renegotiation of the waiver, which partially expires in 2021. Full Story 

Voters in four states have approved Medicaid expansion by ballot. Will Texas do the same?

by Marissa Evans

Idaho, Maine, Nebraska and Utah voters approved Medicaid expansion through ballot initiatives. Now Texas legislators have filed bills for a vote over whether the state should expand coverage for the joint federal-state health insurance program. Full Story 

Texas optometrists "just roll our eyes" over treatment restrictions in the state

by Marissa Evans

Amid what some call an eye care crisis, Texas optometrists are hoping the Legislature will give them more power to help patients without needing other doctors. But ophthalmologists say allowing optometrists more power would put patients' vision at risk. Full Story 

Former Texas HHSC executive commissioner named acting director for Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services

by Marissa Evans

Chris Traylor's new position comes after joining the federal government in July as deputy administrator for strategic initiatives at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Full Story 

Texas still hasn't expanded Medicaid. That's leaving a gap in coverage for hundreds of thousands.

by Allyson R Waller

More and more states have decided to expand Medicaid, but Texas has not budged. With more than a half million Texans in the so-called health coverage gap, will the politics of the issue shift in next year's legislative session? Full Story 

House committee says Texas faces "significant challenges" in curbing substance abuse

by Marissa Evans

In a report released Friday, the House Select Committee on Opioids and Substance Abuse wrote that Texas "must remain vigilant" when it comes to ongoing issues around addiction and drug abuse. Full Story 

Texas doctors seek more opioid addiction treatment options under Medicaid

by Marissa Evans

The state’s Drug Utilization Review Board is taking public comment on whether to expand Medicaid’s preferred drug list to include medication-assisted treatments for opioid addiction besides Suboxone. Full Story 

In Poland, midwives play a significant role in childbirth. In Texas? Not so much.

by Marissa Evans

Poland and Texas have comparable populations, conservative governments and stringent anti-abortion policies. But they differ significantly in how health care is delivered for women — and in the role they allow midwives to play in the childbirth process. Full Story 

House committees hear concerns on managed care program, medically vulnerable Texans

by Marissa Evans

Dozens of people — including children and adults in wheelchairs, parents, insurance executives, state agency officials and representatives of advocacy groups — packed the room for the latest hearing in the aftermath of a Dallas Morning News investigation into Medicaid managed care companies. Full Story 

Texas Supreme Court rules Xerox responsible for fraudulent Medicaid dental payments

by Marissa Evans

The decision comes years after the state found that Texas Medicaid and Healthcare Partnership, a subsidiary of Xerox, allowed workers with limited expertise to approve dental claims for the state's Medicaid program. Full Story 

Immigrant family separations, Pain and Profit in Medicaid managed care

by Emily Ramshaw and Todd Wiseman

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Ross, Emma and The Dallas Morning News' Dave McSwane about the separation of immigrant families on the Texas-Mexico border and McSwane's Pain and Profit series about misdeeds in the state's Medicaid managed care program. Full Story 

A Texas health commission employee was fired. Then she received the private information of more than 100 clients.

by Marissa Evans

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission's Office of the Inspector General is investigating how a former agency employee was mailed a box full of private client information. Full Story 

Texas, feds agree to renew Medicaid funds for safety net hospitals

by Emily Ramshaw

With a Republican in the White House, top Texas leaders have reached an agreement with the federal government to keep Medicaid money flowing into Texas to help hospitals treat uninsured patients. Full Story 

Parents push for Texas to screen all newborns for spinal muscular atrophy

by Matthew Choi

A group of parents is asking the state to test all babies for spinal muscular atrophy, the most common genetic cause of infant death. They hope that a treatment newly approved by the FDA will bolster their cause. Full Story 

GOP health overhaul in jeopardy, but Al Franken not assuming anything

by Abby Livingston

During the opening keynote session of the Texas Tribune Festival, U.S. Sen. Al Franken talked about the latest GOP proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act and whether there's room for bipartisanship in Washington. Full Story 

Fewer Texans were uninsured in 2016, but state still has largest health coverage gap

by Alex Arriaga

More Texans are insured now than four years ago — but the state is still home to 4.5 million people without health coverage, the largest share in the country. Full Story 

Child therapists fear new Texas policy will deepen funding cuts

by Alex Arriaga

Therapists who work with disabled children in their homes saw a glimmer of hope this year, when Texas lawmakers decided to restore some of the funds they cut for such services in 2015. It was short-lived. Full Story 

Feds draw thousands of comments on Texas' request to renew women's health funding

by Emma Platoff

The number of comments to a federal agency considering Texas' request to renew funding for its women's health program has surged this week as advocates on both sides weigh in. Full Story