Why Texas Republicans still oppose Medicaid expansion
More than two-thirds of Texans support Medicaid expansion. But on the eve of the midterm elections, the subject is still taboo for the state GOP. Why? Full Story
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![One of two surgical suites at Eastland Memorial Hospital.]()
Credit: Gary Rhodes for The Texas Tribune -
A free medical clinic opened in rural East Texas. Thousands poured in for help.
Texas ranks last among states in access to health care and has the highest rate of uninsured people in the country. Two longtime doctors in rural Henderson County created a homegrown safety net to fill the gap. Full Story
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![Doug Curran in his office at the East Texas Community Clinic in Athens last November. Curran helped open the safety-net clinic in 2020 after decades of practicing medicine in the rural area and seeing the fallout of Texas’ high uninsured rate. Credit: Blaine Young]()
Credit: Blaine Young/Public Health Watch -
TribCast: A crisis in Texas’ youth prisons
On this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Jolie about the problems within the Texas Juvenile Justice Department and with Eleanor about the state’s efforts to expand postnatal Medicaid. Full Story
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![Giddings State School, a Texas Juvenile Justice Department correctional facility, in Lee County on July 20, 2022.]()
Credit: Jolie McCullough/The Texas Tribune -
Texas health agency says its plan to extend maternal Medicaid coverage is “not approvable” by feds
HHSC said it was initially told the plan was “not approvable.” Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a statement Friday saying Texas’ plan to extend coverage to six months was not rejected but still under review. Full Story
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![A midwife cares for a newborn baby.]()
Credit: Natalia Ojewska for The Texas Tribune -
Texas officials celebrated end of abortion rights after cutting back postpartum Medicaid extension
Greg Abbott claimed Texas provides expectant mothers “necessary resources so that they can choose life for their child,” but it is now one of a dwindling number of states not to offer Medicaid coverage for a full year after residents give birth. Full Story
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![Connie Bunch with her 6-month-old son Aiden in her home in Austin, Texas, on July 6.]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune -
Looming end of federal pandemic emergency threatens to shake Texas’ Medicaid safety net, advocates say
The federal emergency declaration is expected to last through at least mid-October and has kept states from dropping people from Medicaid rolls. Full Story
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![A medical clinic in Austin.]()
Credit: Martin do Nascimento for The Texas Tribune -
Biden administration drops fight over Texas’ Medicaid waiver, now in place until 2030
Debate over the waiver was key to the federal government’s push for Texas to expand Medicaid for more working poor. Full Story
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![A nurse dons full PPE before entering the room of a COVID-19 patient at Goodall-Witcher Hospital in Clifton on Wednesday, August 3, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Texas gets a respite on Medicaid, but not a cure for the uninsured
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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![The main nurses' station at Eastland Memorial Hospital. March 10, 2020.]()
Credit: Gary Rhodes for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Rural Texas hospitals still searching for a remedy
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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![Dr. William Simpson, a surgeon with Eastland Memorial Hospital, visits with a patient pre-surgery on March 10, 2019.]()
Credit: Gary Rhodes for the Texas Tribune -
Feds restore billions in halted payments to Texas hospitals, but the fight over uninsured care continues
The money reimburses hospitals for the services they provide to Medicaid patients in Texas. Full Story
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![Yesenia Alvarado holds her daughter, Medicaid patient Melanie Almaraz, 2, while waiting to see Dr. Alberto Vasquez for treatment of a fever at Su Clinica Familiar in Harlingen, Texas on Jul. 9, 2013.]()
Credit: Eddie Seal for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: A health care problem too big for the Texas Legislature
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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![Nurse Practitioner Barber Anika with a patient at the Legacy Community Health Center in Houston on Aug. 2, 2013.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
An end to the omicron surge is in sight, but relief comes slowly in hard-hit Laredo
COVID-19 numbers are plummeting statewide, but on Texas’ southern border with Mexico, Laredo is still battling its fourth surge. Full Story
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![Families and friends watch the IBC Youth Parade Under the Stars in Laredo on Feb. 17, 2022.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune -
Texas sues Planned Parenthood for $10 million in Medicaid payments
Attorney General Ken Paxton is seeking to claw back Medicaid payments made during the three years that Planned Parenthood was fighting in court to remain as a qualified health care provider. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during a press conference outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 1, 2021.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
How one grandmother fell into the health insurance gap — and why the Build Back Better plan could help cover Texans like her
At least 770,000 Texans are ineligible for both Medicaid and health insurance subsidies through the state-run marketplaces. Full Story
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![Perla Rosalez, 50, poses for a photo with the medication she began taking after she had COVID-19, at her home in Mercedes on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021.]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune -
Maternal health care advocates applaud new state law to extend Medicaid coverage, but say it doesn’t go far enough
The law, which takes effect Sept. 1, gives new mothers six months of postpartum Medicaid coverage instead of two. That’s less than many advocates and some lawmakers wanted. Full Story
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![Tambra Morrison holds her 7-month-old daughter Kalani as they watch her other two children, Kayden and Kynnedi, climb the jungle gym at Red Bird Park in Duncanville on Aug. 14, 2021.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Federal judge rules for Texas, temporarily restores federal health care funding extension
The agreement was set to expire next year after federal health officials rescinded the Trump administration's 10-year extension to the 1115 waiver agreement. Full Story
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![Helen Hawkins, Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, at Carousel Pediatrics in Austin on Nov. 8th, 2012.]()
Credit: Spencer Selvidge for The Texas Tribune -
Texas congressional Democrats propose bill to let local governments expand Medicaid without state consent
The bill would let counties and cities apply to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for funds that were declined by their states. Full Story
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![A Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, treats a patient in Austin on Nov. 8th, 2012.]()
Credit: Spencer Selvidge for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Legislature moves to give moms on Medicaid six months of health coverage after birth
The bill would add an extra four months of health insurance for low-income women, who now get Medicaid coverage from pregnancy until two months after delivery. It now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott for signature. Full Story
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![Patients wait to be seen at the People's Community Clinic in Austin, which provides state-subsidized women's health services to low-income women, July 15, 2014.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers split over how long to extend Medicaid health coverage for new mothers
Maternal health advocates said the bill — originally pitched as a one-year extension — could reduce the state’s maternal mortality rate and offer vital help to mothers with conditions like postpartum depression or health complications in the months after giving birth. Full Story
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![Patients wait to be seen at the People's Community Clinic in Austin, which provides state-subsidized women's health services to low-income women, July 15, 2014.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Texas sets public hearings as it tries to convince federal government to extend health funding for the uninsured
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration over its decision to rescind the Trump administration's extension of the so-called 1115 waiver. Full Story
![A medical clinic in Austin.]()
Credit: Martin do Nascimento for The Texas Tribune