Tag Archives: US Department of Health and Human Services

“Nobody is getting enough”

Pretty much says it all. As Texans scramble for appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine, federal data helps explain why: Relative to its population, the Lone Star State ranks near the bottom in the country in number of doses received. Texas … Continue reading

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Culberson’s stock purchase

Interesting. In a heated confirmation hearing for then-Georgia U.S. Rep. Tom Price for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Democrats raised pointed questions about the congressman’s trading in stocks of companies regulated by the House committees he serves on. One … Continue reading

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If we really cared about improving mental health in Texas

We would have expanded Medicaid at our first opportunity. Federal health officials say people with mental illness and addictions are being left behind in Texas because the state hasn’t expanded Medicaid to more low-income adults. The health care program for … Continue reading

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One million plus Texas Obamacare enrollments

It keeps going up. Just over one million Texans had signed up on the federal health insurance exchange as of last Saturday, signaling a steady drumbeat of interest and giving local advocates a chance for some celebration. “I will take … Continue reading

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Lots of newly insured folks in Texas

Thanks, Obamacare! More than half of 1.2 million Texans who enrolled in private health insurance plans through the federally operated marketplace this year were new customers, according to a government report released Tuesday. The analysis from the U.S. Department of … Continue reading

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Approaching a million Obamacare signups in Texas

We are well ahead of last year’s pace. More than 256,000 Houston-area residents have selected plans or been re-enrolled in coverage through the health insurance marketplace mandated by the Affordable Care Act, and federal and local health officials and experts … Continue reading

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What’s the health insurance enrollment status in Texas?

The short answer is that we don’t know. The longer answer, as this Express-News story indicates, is that we’ll never really know. Self-sufficiency. Distrust. Desire for flexibility. Those are some reasons many consumers bypassed health insurance plans sold on government-run … Continue reading

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ACA enrollments in Texas

As was the case with the rest of the country, there was a big surge in December. Texas enrollments in the online insurance marketplace created under the Affordable Care Act rose nearly eightfold in December, according to 2013 figures that … Continue reading

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Texas Left Me Out

This. Obamacare advocates are actively recruiting those left out of the Medicaid expansion in Republican-controlled states to lobby state officials to change their minds and participate in that key provision of the health care reform law. So far, the effort … Continue reading

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Premiums for insurance exchange plans released

Guess what? They’re pretty darned affordable. “In just 99 days, millions of Americans will finally have the security and peace of mind that have eluded them for years,” U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on a press … Continue reading

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Counties may try to expand Medicaid on their own

The Washington Post reports on the efforts of county and hospital district officials in some of Texas’ largest counties to bypass Rick Perry’s refusal to expand Medicaid for Texas and seek approval to do it themselves for their own jurisdictions. … Continue reading

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We’re #50!

The state of Texas is dead last in delivering health care. The 2011 State Snapshots report is based on 155 quality measures gathered by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human … Continue reading

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