Healthcare

Texas has the highest uninsured rate of children, adults, and women in the country. Reform Austin is committed to providing in-depth reporting to illuminate the critical issues and challenges Texans are facing in healthcare.
Texas is one of 14 states that refuses to expand Medicaid coverage. Almost 10 years after the passage of the Affordable Care Act, Texas still ranks last when it comes to affordability and access.
Additionally, a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act could cost 1.73 million people healthcare coverage. Texas is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit.
Texas still ranks among the worst for maternal mortality and low overall for women’s health. One in four Texas women are uninsured. Currently, women can obtain maternity Medicaid coverage until 2 months after childbirth. Advocates have argued that the coverage length is insufficient, and to address the maternal mortality crisis, coverage should be expanded to one year. Though Medicaid expansion would have made the biggest stride in improving women’s health, the policy did not get beyond a committee hearing or House floor vote in the 86th Legislative Session.
Approximately 875,000 Texas children do not have health insurance. From 2016 to 2018, the percentage of uninsured children rose from 10.7 percent to 11.2 percent. In Texas, once a child is approved for Medicaid they are covered for six months. After the six-month period, the state requires parents to file income updates monthly to continue the coverage. If the state determines there is a problem, parents are given 10 days to respond with necessary paperwork. This has led to many children being removed from the Medicaid roles, despite still qualifying for the program.
Reform Austin covers access to healthcare, healthcare quality, mental health, public health programs, and vaccinations. We report on laws the Texas Legislature passes and the effects they have on the healthcare system, as well as the laws that fail. In addition, we report on lawmakers involved to ensure our elected leaders are working for the public good.

Texas Measles Outbreak Reaches 223 Cases, Spreading to Neighboring States

The measles outbreak in Texas has surpassed 200 reported cases and continues to spread, with new infections emerging in California, New York, and Maryland,...

Texas Doctors Urge Vaccination After Measles Death

Since a Texas child died from measles-related complications on Tuesday, doctors have been urging Texans to vaccinate their children as the outbreak spreads across...

Texas At The Center Of Measles Comeback, First Death Reported

In recent years, measles—once nearly eliminated in the United States—has staged an alarming comeback, with Texas emerging as a focal point of outbreaks. Recent...

Trump/Musk Cuts Hit Texas Veterans Hospitals

A “small” number of jobs have been cut from across Texas in the Veteran’s Administration hospitals, though the exact number is unknown. The San Antonio...

Abbott Says Texas Abortion Ban Works Fine

Governor Greg Abbott said that the Texas ban on abortion needs no clarification despite reports of pregnant people dying and fleeing the state for...

Measles Outbreak Worsens in West Texas with No Clear End

A measles outbreak in rural West Texas continues to escalate, with confirmed cases now reaching at least 49. Health officials believe the actual number...

Measles Infecting Kids in Undervaccinated West Texas County

A measles outbreak has infected two dozen unvaccinated West Texas residents over the past two weeks, hospitalizing nine, the Texas Department of State Health...

New Bill Would Give Paxton Authority To Go After People Who Get Abortions

A new bill in the Texas Legislature would give Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton the ability to directly prosecute people who get abortions or...

Maternal Sepsis More Than Triple After Texas Abortion Ban

The fallout from Texas’s near-total ban on abortion continues as rates of maternal sepsis soar. Those rates have more than tripled since 2021. Maternal sepsis...

Paxton, Texas Right To Life Recruit Men To Inform On Pregnant Partners For Seeking...

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and the state’s largest anti-reproductive choice organization, Texas Right to Life, are teaming up to further restrict abortion access....
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