Texas fetal remains burial trial gets underway
The law at the center of the case is Senate Bill 8, passed in 2017, which requires the burial or cremation of fetal remains. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/01/06/Fetal_Protest_1_CR_TT.jpg)
Marissa Evans
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/profiles/MarissaEvans.jpg)
Marissa Evans reported on health and human services policy for the Tribune from 2016 to 2019. Before the Tribune she reported for CQ Roll Call in D.C., where she covered state legislatures and health care issues. Her reporting has appeared in Civil Eats, NBC BLK, Cosmo for Latinas, Kaiser Health News, The Seattle Times, The Washington Post, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Star Tribune and Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. She is a 2013 alumna of Marquette University in Milwaukee.
Past Contributions
-
![Protesters of Texas' fetal remains burial rule gather outside the Governor's Mansion on Jan. 6, 2017.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
In Poland, midwives play a significant role in childbirth. In Texas? Not so much.
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/bd2973b13b18278370a2319d0045fe3d/Poland_Midwife_NO_TT.jpg)
![A midwife cares for a newborn baby at the Independent Public Health Care Center in Myślenice, Poland.]()
Credit: Natalia Ojewska for The Texas Tribune -
House committees hear concerns on managed care program, medically vulnerable Texans
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/08/02/7C2A8086.JPG)
![Rep. Sarah Davis, R-West University Place, speaks to media regarding her request to add Ethics Reform to the special session on Aug. 2, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Texas Supreme Court rules Xerox responsible for fraudulent Medicaid dental payments
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Medicaid-3dCross.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
Poll: Texans say legislators need to make health care a priority
Texans say the Legislature’s top three priorities should be lowering the cost of health care, reducing the number of women dying after childbirth and lowering the cost of prescription drugs, according to a poll conducted by the Episcopal Health Foundation and the Kaiser Family Foundation. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/04/04/Capitol-Health.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Illustration by John Jordan -
Texas reproductive rights groups worried about Trump proposal to strip funding from clinics affiliated with abortion providers
Anti-abortion advocates and state leaders, meanwhile, hope the rule will help the state power the right to distribute federal family planning dollars. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/12/14/CLINCS3608.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
After Santa Fe shooting, Gov. Greg Abbott sees a West Texas mental health program as a statewide model
A four-year-old project run by the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in a group of West Texas high schools has prevented violent incidents through screenings, according to one Tech official. Could it work in all Texas schools? Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/01aabb878630fae55935ee77fa34a49f/Santa_Fe_shooting_1_MS_TT.jpg)
![A young woman mourns after a May 18, 2018 school shooting at Santa Fe High School left multiple fatalities.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Texas sues the maker of OxyContin over the opioid epidemic
The Texas Attorney General's Office says Purdue Pharma fueled "the nation's opioid epidemic by deceptively marketing prescription painkillers," including OxyContin. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2018/03/12/OxyContin_REUTERS_TT.jpg)
![A pharmacist holds prescription painkiller OxyContin, 40mg pills, made by Purdue Pharma.]()
Credit: REUTERS/George Frey -
Amid contracting scandal, Charles Smith to retire as head of Texas health commission
Smith, executive commissioner for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, will step down at the end of May after weeks of intense scrutiny over how the commission handles contracts. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/11/01/_House_HHS_240_Charles_Smith.jpg)
![Charles Smith, executive commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, testifies at a Nov. 1, 2017 state House committee hearing.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
Report: Thousands more Texas women being served in health programs
Despite rising numbers, it's still not known whether the number of women accessing such services has returned to the levels that preceded massive budget cuts during the 2011 legislative session. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/04/12/GW1A6238.jpg)
![A billboard advertising the Healthy Texas Women program in downtown Austin.]()
Credit: Tim Park for The Texas Tribune