/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.
Four candidates — Carl Sherman, a two-term former mayor of DeSoto; Deshaundra Lockhart Jones, a sitting DeSoto City Council member; Victoria Walton, a small business owner and Christopher Graham — are vying for Giddings’ open seat in the March 6 primary race. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/05/23/Giddings_shaming_presser_2_MKC.JPG)
More than 4,000 Texans have died from flu-related illnesses this season, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2018/02/21/VIDA_clinic_IVP_3_TT.jpg)
Twenty-three million people — including 1.3 million Texans — may lose access to community health centers in the next several weeks if the federal government doesn’t renew funding for them. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2018/02/07/Legacy_Clinic_PYH_TT.jpg)
Texas Health and Human Services executive commissioner Charles Smith said during a speech Thursday that his agency is working to improve how it handles contracts. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/11/01/_House_HHS_240_Charles_Smith.jpg)
Texas House Speaker Joe Straus said that the House Appropriations Committee or the General Investigating and Ethics Committee should look into the Health and Human Services Commission’s practices for contract oversight. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/10/25/Straus_presser_5_BD_TT.jpg)
U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra ruled Monday afternoon that Texas cannot move forward with the rule, citing that the Texas Department of State Health Services’ arguments “lack merit.” Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/01/06/Fetal_Protest_1_CR_TT.jpg)
In a 116-page order, U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack said Texas has dragged its heels on foster care reform and continues to need oversight as it tries to find fixes. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/04/10/TTE-FosterCare_leadart-01.png)
Across Texas, rural hospitals are facing a difficult decision: Whether to continue delivering babies as the number of births falls and the cost of providing the service rises. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c09eb76ba664d4038169f85a257b6d9e/Lamesa%20Hospital%2001%20TT.jpg)
After a months-long investigation, the Tribune found that the state's data on maternal mortality is a moving target, that the number of women dying during or after pregnancy is still rising and that the state has missed opportunities to improve women's health programs. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2018/01/15/Chris_Zavala_TT.jpg)
Texas Health and Human Services officials announced Monday that they are receiving $47.7 million to begin needed construction for existing state hospitals, some of which are more than a century old. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/04/29/IMG_5068.jpg)