Texas Health and Human Services officials announced Monday that they are receiving $47.7 million to begin needed construction for existing state hospitals, some of which are more than a century old.
Marissa Evans
Marissa Evans reported on health and human services policy for the Tribune from 2016 to 2019. Before the Tribune she reported for CQ Roll Call in D.C., where she covered state legislatures and health care issues. Her reporting has appeared in Civil Eats, NBC BLK, Cosmo for Latinas, Kaiser Health News, The Seattle Times, The Washington Post, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Star Tribune and Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. She is a 2013 alumna of Marquette University in Milwaukee.
Posted inState Government
Texas has enough federal funds to keep CHIP running through the end of March
Texas now has enough federal money to keep alive a health insurance program for more than 400,000 uninsured kids and pregnant women through the end of March, a state official said Friday.
Posted in
2017 Year in Review
Child welfare, health insurance and abortion dominate Texas news in 2017
Texas tackled a child welfare crisis, sought to address the opioid epidemic and looked at how to help more people in the state access mental health care. Here’s a look at this year’s top Texas health and human services stories.
Posted inState Government
Texas to receive $135M to keep Children’s Health Insurance Program alive through February
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission sent a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday saying the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is giving the state $135 million to continue the program through February.
Posted in
Now on the Books
Texans to get help reaping mental health insurance benefits
Under a new law that took effect Sept. 1, insurance companies may not cover mental health and substance abuse care differently than they cover medical care.
Posted in
In Harvey's Wake
Along the Texas coast, food banks brace for post-Harvey need
Food banks, pantries and other food access advocates are bracing for increased need in communities that struggled with food insecurity even before Hurricane Harvey — and planning how to meet needs in the months of recovery still ahead.
Posted in
In Harvey's Wake
Harvey deals a blow to Texas’ already struggling child welfare system
Texas’ child welfare system was already in crisis before Hurricane Harvey. Now, perhaps hundreds of foster families have been displaced by the storm and hundreds of child welfare workers have been unable to return to work.
Posted inState Government
Anti-abortion group losing $4.1 million in family planning service funding
The Heidi Group, an anti-abortion organization, is losing $4.1 million in state funding to offer reproductive health services for women after failing to serve as many patients as it thought it could.
Posted inState Government
Help us investigate why Texas moms are dying at alarming rates
If you are a Texas woman who had severe pregnancy complications, or if you know a Texas woman who died after giving birth, we want to hear from you.
Posted in
Health care
Gov. Abbott signs bill giving Texas maternal mortality task force more time
Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill on Wednesday giving a state task force more time to study why an alarming number of Texas mothers are dying less than a year after childbirth and find solutions.