The latest health care news from The Texas Tribune.
The newfound push this session around school safety and preventing mass shootings is reinvigorating ideas about mental health care for Texas children. But advocates often cringe when legislators make the argument that mental health care is the key to preventing mass shootings. Full Story
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O'Rourke has long said he wants health care to be affordable, high quality and universal — a goal that brought questions from voters during his first few days as a presidential candidate. Full Story
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A federal program known as the 1115 waiver helps pay for the costs of providing health care to the uninsured. Advocates want the Texas Legislature to order a renegotiation of the waiver, which partially expires in 2021. Full Story
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Hospital leaders say restrictions on their property tax revenue growth could force them to scale back services. Full Story
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Ask Texans what problems they're most worried about for the U.S. and for the state, and their eyes turn to the border between Texas and Mexico, the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll found. Full Story
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Despite the fact that lawmakers have so far been focused on bipartisan "bread and butter" issues like property taxes and school finance, more than a dozen abortion-related bills are circulating in the state Capitol. Full Story
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If you want a peek into the partisan differences among Texas voters, just check the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll's findings on climate change, health insurance plans and who ought to pay higher federal income taxes. Full Story
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The Texas Department of State Health Services says 186 people, including immigrants and detention center employees, were confirmed with cases of mumps since October. Full Story
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Committee chairs from both chambers unveiled the proposal on Thursday. Full Story
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In hopes of saving money on data storage, legislators are considering downsizing the state's data centers and relying more on private tech companies. Full Story
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Idaho, Maine, Nebraska and Utah voters approved Medicaid expansion through ballot initiatives. Now Texas legislators have filed bills for a vote over whether the state should expand coverage for the joint federal-state health insurance program. Full Story
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“It’s going to take us a while to get out of this backlog that we’re in, but we’re doing the things necessary to help more consumers,” a state official said. Full Story
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Paxton's office has asked lawmakers for millions more in funding and expanded jurisdiction to go after certain crimes. Critics say the requests are aimed at political gains. Full Story
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Amid what some call an eye care crisis, Texas optometrists are hoping the Legislature will give them more power to help patients without needing other doctors. But ophthalmologists say allowing optometrists more power would put patients' vision at risk. Full Story
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An analysis by the research arm of Environment Texas found that 275 companies across the state reported emitting 63 million pounds of hazardous and climate-warming pollutants from their facilities in 2017. Full Story
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Texas moved to exclude Planned Parenthood from Medicaid years ago after a highly-edited video from an anti-abortion group suggested abortion providers sold fetal tissue. Full Story
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State leaders have promised to tackle school safety this session, and lawmakers are expected to push bills that would beef up mental health screening programs and make it easier to arm teachers. Full Story
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Amid uncertainty about the federal health law, state legislators will tackle a variety of issues during the session, from abortion to mental health to opioids to funding for Medicaid. Full Story
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Chris Traylor's new position comes after joining the federal government in July as deputy administrator for strategic initiatives at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Full Story
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Amid a packed Austin courtroom Monday, U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel told attorneys he was confused by their arguments in a sweeping lawsuit challenging dozens of Texas abortion laws. Full Story
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