The latest health care news from The Texas Tribune.
Texas got a temporary reprieve on Medicaid funding from the federal government. But that won’t solve underlying problems with high numbers of uninsured Texans and the plight of hospitals in the state — especially those in rural areas. Full Story
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Cain has accused the nonprofits of being “criminal organizations” and has ordered them to stop funding abortions in Texas. Lawyers representing the funds are demanding a retraction. Full Story
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Since vaccines became widely available for Texans 12 and older last May, about 82% of Texas’ COVID-19 deaths were among the unvaccinated. Full Story
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Launched in June, a cross-border effort using buses and donated vaccines is helping roughly 2,000 Nuevo Laredo residents per day get COVID-19 shots in Laredo — 10% of Texas’ daily total. Full Story
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The good news is that no rural hospitals in Texas have closed in the last two years. The bad news? They’re still in crisis mode, and the state government is still struggling to find a remedy. Full Story
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The money reimburses hospitals for the services they provide to Medicaid patients in Texas. Full Story
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Paxton’s claims that the companies engaged in deceptive marketing practices are part of his ongoing effort to limit access to gender-affirming health care for transgender teens. Full Story
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The Texas law has proven largely impervious to judicial review. But lawyers representing abortion advocacy groups believe opponents may have given them an opening to challenge the law in a more friendly federal court. Full Story
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State lawmakers will tell you they hate property taxes as much as anyone. But the state itself doesn’t levy the tax — local governments do. And lowering it in a meaningful way would require state officials to raise taxes or cut programs. For them, talking about it is easier than doing something. Full Story
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A $30 million grant program aims to mitigate the fallout from drug addiction and overdoses. Officials say Cruz’s comments about it are misleading. Full Story
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Hospitals across the state have already started restricting critical treatment as health care providers fear legal consequences and worry they could lose their medical licenses. Meanwhile, teenagers are already leaving the state to get care or avoiding medical care altogether. Full Story
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The temporary injunction was issued as part of a lawsuit brought on behalf of parents being investigated by child welfare workers for letting their transgender teenager access gender-affirming health care. Full Story
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Texas, unlike all but 11 other states, hasn’t expanded its Medicaid program. And it also hasn’t addressed the problem that’s supposed to help solve: The state’s worst-in-the-nation ranking for people without health insurance. Full Story
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It took him three years to come out to his mother as trans. Now, under a new directive from the governor, the state is investigating whether she pressured him to transition. Full Story
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An attorney representing foster care children in a suit against Texas said Department of Public Safety director Steve McCraw’s conclusion that there was no evidence of sexual abuse despite the investigation into the photos was “both surprising and extremely troubling.” Full Story
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Alyssa Pastrana was 21 years old when she died of an accidental fentanyl overdose at her home in Abilene. Full Story
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Paxton tweeted Friday that investigations into parents of transgender children would continue as a result of his appeal. But the state’s child welfare agency won’t confirm the status of the investigations. Full Story
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Jeff Younger sees himself as the “tip of the spear” in an effort that led the state to investigate parents of transgender children for child abuse. Full Story
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Hospital administrators and doctors at GENECIS struggled to reconcile halting care with the knowledge that doing so could severely jeopardize patients’ mental health, recordings of internal meetings show. Full Story
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District Judge Amy Clark Meachum said the governor’s directive for the state child welfare agency to investigate parents who provide gender-affirming care to their children was “beyond the scope of his authority and unconstitutional.” The statewide injunction will remain in effect until the case is heard in July. Full Story
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