As the Texas Legislature starts drafting a budget and writing laws that reflect the state’s values and respond to the state’s needs, it should ask: What does it really take
Today, the Senate Finance committee kicked off public hearings on Senate Bill 1, the proposed state budget for 2014 and 2015. At $89 billion in General Revenue, the Senate’s starting
This weekend, Eva’s piece ran in the Austin American-Statesman’s Legislative Preview series: We believe in Texas. We believe in the people of Texas. We know it’s hard for families, especially
On the face of it, “school choice” sounds like an intriguing concept. But, a key component of the school choice proposal presented by Senate leadership, which purports to allow for
There’s plenty happening with Medicaid and CHIP this session. The first big hurdle in 2013 will be ensuring that the “Medicaid IOU”–$3.7 billion at HHSC, and another $1 billion at
Health Care Protecting and improving Texas Medicaid and CHIP will help ensure access to a decent standard of health care for millions of low-income Texas seniors, children, and families who
The state of Colorado recently rejected a health insurance rate increase from Cigna that on average would have raised rates 24 percent, with increases for individuals ranging from 10 percent
Almost 1.5 million students were enrolled in credit courses at a Texas college or university in Fall 2011—more than 9 out of 10 of them at a public institution. Public
Texans aren’t the only ones thinking about the great fiscal deal the now-optional ACA Medicaid expansion would be for our state. The Atlantic’s Jordan Weissman blogged last week, using Texas
As I wrote last week, HHSC announced that will wait to convert the Medicaid Women’s Health Program to a fully state-funded program. Still, the rules that would run the state-funded