As disabled Texans wait for services, low caregiver wages worsen staffing shortages
Caregivers got a raise from state lawmakers last year but many still leave for other higher-paying state jobs. Full Story
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![Laura Lemkowitz assists Jose Montelongo into the Center for Health Care Services van during their weekly volunteer service with Meals on Wheels.]()
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With too few mental health providers, more patients turn to primary care
While primary care is experiencing its own workforce shortage, the profession is shouldering more mental health screenings to help bridge the behavioral health provider gap. Full Story
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![Francisco Garcia arrives at Kelsey-Seybold clinic in Sugar Land to see his doctor Spencer Berthelsen for annual physical. Sept. 22, 2011.]()
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Texas Supreme Court rejects case that could have imperiled IVF access
The justices allowed a lower court’s opinion to stand, and, for now, sidestepped the question of whether a frozen embryo has the same rights as a living child. Full Story
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![A doctor injects sperm directly into an egg during in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure called Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection at Novum clinic October 26, 2010, in Warsaw.]()
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As a Texas city debates an abortion travel ban, maternal care is scarce in nearby rural counties
Amid a fight over an “abortion travel ban,” women health care experts say more attention is needed to the plight of pregnant Texans in the Panhandle where there are few hospitals and OBGYNs. Full Story
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![The town of Cactus on Jan. 29, 2020. Cactus is in the upper part of the Texas Panhandle, about 50 miles north of Amarillo.]()
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U.S. Supreme Court allows access to abortion pill, unanimously rejecting Texas challenge
In the high court’s first abortion-related ruling since it overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, the justices ruled unanimously to change nothing about mifepristone’s legal status. Full Story
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![A patient prepares to take mifepristone, the first pill given in a medical abortion, on Jan. 13, 2023.]()
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Democrats block Cruz’s IVF bill, saying it doesn’t go far enough to protect the procedure
The senator’s bill to protect in vitro fertilization would have withheld Medicaid funding from states that ban the procedure. Democrats say IVF should be a federal right. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks at a press conference about the United States restricting weapons for Israel, at the U.S. Capitol on May 9, 2024.]()
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Texas sues to block new Biden administration rule protecting access to some gender transition care
In March, the federal government said providers can’t deny gender care to transgender people that would be provided to others for other purposes. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Texas GOP Convention in San Antonio on Thursday, May 23, 2024.]()
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State rejects health insurers' pleas to halt plan that will shake up coverage for 1.8 million Texans
Affected Texans who receive Medicaid coverage would be shifted to new insurers next year if the state health and human services agency sticks to its plan. It’s now up to the executive commissioner to make a final decision. Full Story
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![An empty emergency room at Goodall-Witcher Hospital in Clifton on August 3, 2021.]()
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“Grateful to be alive”: Clubhouse programs take pressure off overwhelmed Texas mental health hospitals
Thousands of people are discharged from Texas mental health hospitals yearly, and so-called step-down programs like clubhouses can help them integrate back into the community. Full Story
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![AUSTIN, TX - MAY 29: Austin Clubhouse member Jonathan Denhart poses for a portrait at Hyde Park Christian Church in Austin, Texas on May 29, 2024. Photo by Montinique Monroe for the Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
Strict rules over delta-8 and delta-9 likely for Texas’ booming hemp industry
Lawmakers are struggling to balance demands for medicinal cannabis products with a wildly growing market that is outpacing meaningful regulation. Full Story
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![A product containing Delta-8 at Oasis CBD Shop in Brownsville on Nov. 8, 2021.]()
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Texas Supreme Court rejects challenge to abortion laws
The court ruled against 20 women who said they were denied medically necessary abortions, saying the medical exceptions in the law were broad enough. Full Story
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![Amanda Zurawski, middle, addresses the press following the first day of testimony for Zurawski v. State of Texas outside the Travis County Civil and Family Courts Facility in Austin on July 19, 2023.]()
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Texas revamps Narcan distribution following delays, unpredictable supply
Texas has tapped more than $45 million in federal funds to get the overdose-reversing drug into the hands of law enforcement, members of the public. But the program has been plagued by supply issues, delays and lack of communication. Full Story
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![Narcan nasal spray at an opioid educational training class with Callie Crow, the founder of Drew's 27 Chains, on March 31, 2022, in Caddo Mills.]()
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Despite pressure, Amarillo City Council punts on abortion travel ban petition
Supporters of the petition may ultimately seek a vote of Amarillo residents later this fall. Full Story
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![Amarillo Mayor Cole Stanley, left, and Councilman Tom Scherlen listen to testimony during a city council meeting Tuesday, May 28 in Amarillo. Residents gave testimony and arguments to members of the city council as they discussed a proposed abortion travel ban in Amarillo.]()
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Texas’ first-ever statewide flood plan estimates 5 million live in flood-prone areas
The state’s flood plan shows which Texans are most at risk of flooding and suggests billions of dollars more are needed for flood mitigation projects. Full Story
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![A truck in flood waters in Livingston on May 2, 2024. Thousands fled their Southeast Texas homes as heavy rains saturated land in multiple counties.]()
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Texas appeals court orders dismissal of lawsuit against Texas Tribune, ProPublica
The court ruled that MRG Medical filed its lawsuit against the news organizations past the statute of limitations. Full Story
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The race to uncover bird flu in the Texas Panhandle
Dairy farmers and veterinarians in northern Texas furiously investigated a mysterious illness among cattle before the government got involved. Farm cat deaths were the tip off. Full Story
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![A herd of cattle along TX-137 in between Central Texas small towns.]()
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Anti-abortion doctor appointed to Texas maternal death review committee
Dr. Ingrid Skop, an influential anti-abortion advocate, will now be reviewing maternal deaths for the state. Full Story
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![Dr. Ingrid Skop speaks at the Texas Medical Board meeting to discuss guidance around physicians for medical exceptions to the state's abortion ban laws at the George H.W. Bush State Office Building on March 22, 2024.]()
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At five hour hearing, no one is happy with Texas Medical Board’s proposed abortion guidance
Doctors, lawyers and advocates say the state board’s new guidance still doesn’t clarify when doctors can legally perform abortions. Full Story
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![Texas Medical Board President Sherif Zaafran, M.D., speaks during a board meeting in the George H.W. Bush Building in Austin on March 22, 2024. All the seats in the room were filled as the board considered agenda item number 28, "Consideration and possible action on rules regarding exceptions to the ban on abortions."]()
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Ted Cruz files bill to protect IVF
The Texas Republican’s Senate bill comes as the state supreme court considers taking up a case that could imperil access to in vitro fertilization. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz speaks during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled "Texas Unconstitutional Abortion Ban and the Role of the Shadow Docket", in Hart Senate Office Building in Washington on Sept. 29, 2021.]()
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Travis County is shifting focus to prevent overdose deaths as fentanyl ravages the area
Since 2019, accidental drug deaths have been rising in Texas, with the number tripling in Travis County. Full Story
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![An Austin-Travis County EMS vehicle parked outside of St. Davidís North Austin Medical Center on July 7, 2020.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune