Latest News On Texas

Latest KFF Health News Stories

To Protect a Mother’s Health: How Abortion Ban Exemptions Play Out in a Post-‘Roe’ World

KFF Health News Original

Florida’s six-week abortion law allows exemptions in cases of rape, incest, and human trafficking, and to save the health or life of the mother. But the recent history of such exemptions in other states suggests that very few women will be able to take advantage of them.

Texan Activists Thirst for a National Heat Standard to Protect Outdoor Workers

KFF Health News Original

As much of the U.S. faces extremely high summer temperatures, Texas’ Republican governor, Greg Abbott, has taken steps that effectively eliminate mandated water breaks for construction workers. In response, protesters from the Lone Star State came to Washington, D.C., to press for federal protections for such outdoor workers.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Another Try for Mental Health ‘Parity’

Podcast

President Joe Biden is kicking off his reelection campaign in part by trying to finish a decades-long effort to establish parity in insurance benefits between mental and physical health. Meanwhile, House Republicans are working to add abortion and other contentious amendments to must-pass spending bills. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Céline Gounder about her podcast “Epidemic.” The new season focuses on the successful public health effort to eradicate smallpox.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Let’s Talk About the Weather

Podcast

It’s been the summer of broken weather records around the world — for heat, rain, and wildfire smoke — advertising the risks of climate change in a big way. But, apparently, it’s not enough to break the logjam in Washington over how to address the growing climate crisis. Meanwhile, in Texas, women who were unable to get care for pregnancy complications took their stories to court, and Congress gears up to — maybe — do something about prescription drug prices. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join Julie Rovner, KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Meena Seshamani, the top administrator for the federal Medicare program.

As Low-Nicotine Cigarettes Hit the Market, Anti-Smoking Groups Press for Wider Standard

KFF Health News Original

The first FDA-authorized cigarettes with 95% less nicotine than traditional smokes will go on sale in California, Florida, and Texas starting in early July. Anti-smoking groups oppose greenlighting just one plant biotech’s products and instead urge federal regulators to set a low-nicotine standard for the entire industry.

Once-Resistant Rural Court Officials Begin to Embrace Medications to Treat Addiction

KFF Health News Original

As evidence supporting medication treatment for opioid addiction mounts, judges, district attorneys, and law enforcement officials in rural America are increasingly open to it after years of insisting on abstinence only.

Malpractice Lawsuits Over Denied Abortion Care May Be on the Horizon

KFF Health News Original

Physicians and attorneys say it’s a question of when — not if — a pregnant person dies from lack of care in a state with an abortion ban, potentially setting the stage for a malpractice lawsuit that could pressure providers to reconsider delaying or denying care.

Medical Exiles: Families Flee States Amid Crackdown on Transgender Care

KFF Health News Original

As more states restrict gender-affirming care for transgender people, some are relocating to more welcoming destinations, such as California, Illinois, Maryland, and Nevada, where they don’t have to worry about being locked out of medical care.

More States OK Postpartum Medicaid Coverage Beyond Two Months

KFF Health News Original

Montana, Alaska, Mississippi, Missouri, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming are among the latest states moving to provide health coverage for up to a year after pregnancy through the federal-state health insurance program for low-income people.

Small, Rural Communities Have Become Abortion Access Battlegrounds

KFF Health News Original

After local leaders in rural Nevada reached an impasse over a proposed Planned Parenthood clinic, an anti-abortion activist pitching local abortion bans across the U.S. arrived at their remote City Hall.

Pequeñas comunidades rurales se han convertido en campos de batalla por el acceso al aborto

KFF Health News Original

La búsqueda por promulgar prohibiciones locales se ha vuelto particularmente crítica en pueblos pequeños, situados en las fronteras entre estados que han restringido el aborto y estados donde las leyes preservan el acceso.

A Covid Test Medicare Scam May Be a Trial Run for Further Fraud

KFF Health News Original

Before the covid-19 public health emergency ended, Medicare advocates around the country noticed a rise in complaints from beneficiaries who received at-home covid tests they never requested. Bad actors may have used seniors’ Medicare information to improperly bill the federal government — and could do it again, say federal investigators.

Estafas a Medicare con pruebas para covid pueden generar otros fraudes

KFF Health News Original

La cobertura de Medicare para las pruebas caseras de covid-19 finalizó hace pocos días, pero las estafas generadas por este beneficio temporal podrían tener consecuencias persistentes para las personas mayores.

Marihuana legal es más potente que nunca pero no está bien regulada

KFF Health News Original

Cientos de miles de personas llegan a salas de emergencias por crisis relacionadas con la marihuana, y millones sufren trastornos psicológicos vinculados al consumo de cannabis, según investigaciones federales.

An Outdated Tracking System Is a Key Factor in Texas’ Foster Care Shortcomings

KFF Health News Original

The computer program, designed in 1996 to be a secure location for foster children’s medical and school records and histories of neglect and abuse, is older than Google — and has had far fewer updates.