The latest federal health reform news from The Texas Tribune.
The Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday opened its discussion on how to finance the state's health budget by considering the impact of cost containment initiatives and how to proactively curb Medicaid fraud. Full Story
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At last Friday's Hot Seat conversation at the University of Texas at Arlington, state Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-Fort Worth, and state Rep. Diane Patrick, R-Arlington, talked about public education, health care, the state budget and other issues in play in the 83rd session. Full Story
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Texas' Republican leadership is adamant that Texas will not expand Medicaid, a major tenet of federal health reform. A report by the state's former deputy comptroller and former chief revenue estimator suggests that would be short-sighted. Full Story
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A bill filed Thursday in the Texas House would give religiously based businesses a state tax break if the businesses chose not to comply with the federal government’s mandate that employers provide contraception coverage. Full Story
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Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Sen. Jane Nelson on Wednesday discussed new Senate proposals that target Medicaid spending. The plans would institute quality-based payment reforms for long-term care services and measures to catch fraud and abuse. Full Story
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As they contemplate whether to expand Medicaid, Texas lawmakers will weigh factors including enrollment growth, costs and savings, and the effects on the rate of insured. This interactive breaks down the numbers connected to those factors. Full Story
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Health care providers across Texas are submitting proposals to transform the way they care for the poor and uninsured. But the complicated bureaucratic process for achieving these lofty goals to transform the system has led to disagreements over how to distribute money. Full Story
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For health care in Texas, 2012 was a year rocked by scandals, budget cuts, legal challenges and major policy shifts at the state and national levels. Here's a look back at the year's biggest stories on health care. Full Story
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UPDATED: The boards of both Baylor Health Care System and Scott & White Healthcare have signed a letter of intent to merge the two organizations, creating a $7.7 billion health network called Baylor Scott & White Health. Full Story
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The rates of elective surgery for Medicare patients vary dramatically depending on which part of the state Texans live in, according to new research from the Dartmouth Atlas Project, which analyzes medical referrals, procedures and health care costs across the nation. Full Story
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As federal policies push medical providers to switch to electronic health systems, a new job market for highly trained health IT professionals is quickly emerging — and the University of Texas at Austin is taking advantage of it. Full Story
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At our Hot Seat conversation at Trinity University in San Antonio, state Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio, and state Sen.-elect Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, sparred about public education, health care and other issues in play in the upcoming 83rd session. Full Story
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Despite Gov. Rick Perry’s firm opposition to Medicaid expansion, a key tenet of federal health reform, Texas Democrats remain optimistic that the 2013 legislative session can yield a deal on the issue. Full Story
At our Hot Seat conversation at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, state Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, and U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi, talked state and national politics and previewed both the 83rd session and the 113th Congress. Full Story
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At this morning's TribLive conversation, incoming state Reps. Cecil Bell Jr., Giovanni Capriglione and Mary Gonzalez discussed what Texas should do about the Affordable Care Act now that President Obama has been re-elected. Full Story
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Ahead of a Friday deadline to decide, Gov. Rick Perry’s office has reaffirmed that Texas will not implement a major tenet of federal health reform — a state-based online marketplace for consumers to purchase coverage. Full Story
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At last Friday's quarterly meeting of the Texas Lyceum, I interviewed U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, about the future of Medicaid and Medicare, Texans without insurance and the likely fate of the Affordable Care Act. Full Story
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In what one federal official described as "one of the largest Medicare fraud takedowns in Department of Justice history," the Medicare Fraud Strike Force indicted 91 people in seven cities on Thursday, including 28 in Dallas and Houston. Full Story
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Texas, it’s official: We have the worst rate of health insurance coverage in the country. That creates a huge financial burden on the health care system and the insured. Is politics standing in the way of reform? Full Story
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Texas has more uninsured residents than any other state, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This interactive shows demographics of the uninsured and how many people could be insured by 2014 if federal reform is implemented. Full Story
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