Tag Archives: HHSC

Smaller WHP provider list back up

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe they got it right this time. A revised list of Texas Women’s Health Program providers — with 965 fewer doctors and clinics — has returned to the state’s website. […] The HHSC had previously stated that the Texas WHP … Continue reading →

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The state begins preparing its excuses for its WHP screwup

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The fail is strong in this one. State health officials continue to insist that they have signed up more than enough providers to replace Planned Parenthood across most of Texas. Areas of limited coverage — including San Angelo, Corsicana and … Continue reading →

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Where are the doctors?

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Morning News tries to verify that the Dallas-area providers listed for the new Texas Women’s Health Program are in fact providing health care services to the women in this program as advertised. It goes about as well as you’d … Continue reading →

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Substitute WHP has problems: Film at 11

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

No one could have seen this coming. State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, has been worried about the Women’s Health Program since the state said it would create its own version of the program. That came after the state moved to … Continue reading →

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State fails to get injunction against terminating Womens Health Program funds

Posted on December 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, last year the Lege passed a law that forbade Planned Parenthood from participating in the Women’s Health Program on the grounds that PP does abortions even though none of the PP clinics that participate in the Women’s … Continue reading →

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Planned Parenthood files another lawsuit

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Keeping the heat on the state. As a tumultuous year in women’s health draws to a close, Planned Parenthood is turning up the heat on Texas, today filing a new lawsuit that challenge the state’s move to ban the nonprofit … Continue reading →

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Planned Parenthood gains a stay in state lawsuit

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

If you’re confused by where the Women’s Health Program stands in Texas, I don’t blame you. Planned Parenthood will continue participating in the Women’s Health Program — for now. Travis County District Judge Stephen Yelenosky on Thursday approved a temporary … Continue reading →

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No, they can’t

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

You just need to ask yourself one simple question about this. Planned Parenthood will remain part of the Women’s Health Program for now, state officials said Wednesday, putting off the organization’s ouster as critics questioned whether enough health-care providers would … Continue reading →

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No Planned Parenthood, no women’s health care

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a simple enough concept. Women’s access to affordable health care will be reduced if the state follows through with its plan to eschew federal funding for the Women’s Health Program and create a state program instead, according to a … Continue reading →

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Psych hospital privatization rejected

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Department of State Health Services has rejected a bid by Geo Care to privatize Kerrville State Hospital. Last year, legislators told State Health Services it had to solicit proposals from mental health providers that wanted to run one … Continue reading →

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This is what a government takeover of health care looks like

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s happening right here in Texas. Texas officials express confidence that thousands of low-income women will be able to find new providers should Planned Parenthood be excluded from the state’s Women’s Health Program, but Xelena Gonzalez does not think woman … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit strikes again

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Dammit. A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that Texas did not act unconstitutionally when it moved to expel Planned Parenthood from a health and contraceptive care program for low-income women. The ruling overturned a preliminary injunction, issued in April by … Continue reading →

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The first rule of women’s health

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Is don’t talk about things that make certain Republicans queasy. A proposed state rule that would prohibit doctors in Texas’ Women’s Health Program from discussing the option of abortion with their patients — even if the patient asks about it … Continue reading →

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Medicaid expansion: Not as expensive as the state claimed it would be

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Remember last year when the state Health and Human Services Commission claimed that Medicaid expansion would cost the state of Texas $27 billion over ten years, causing every Republican in the state to have a fainting spell and a hissy … Continue reading →

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Yvonne Gutierrez: Republican support for women’s health?

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from a series of guest posts that I will be presenting over the next few weeks. We all know there is a lot at stake for the 2012 election cycle. All eyes are on Washington but the … Continue reading →

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Suehs to retire

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Health and Human Services Commissioner Tom Suehs will call it a career this August. Suehs’ announcement follows news last month that Billy Millwee, the state’s Medicaid director, was retiring, leaving an even bigger void than anticipated at the top … Continue reading →

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The state shows its intent in Planned Parenthood lawsuit

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas in order to block the “Affiliate Rule” that Rick Perry is using to deny Medicaid funds to their clinics for the Women’s Health Program. In the opening … Continue reading →

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Rick Perry’s vision for women’s health in Texas

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

More talk than action, and the numbers don’t add up. Are we surprised? Texas health officials have delivered a proposal to the federal government that outlines their plans for transitioning the Women’s Health Program from a program primarily supported by … Continue reading →

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Planned Parenthood sues Texas

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Two can play at that game. Planned Parenthood affiliates in Texas filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday to block a rule aimed at excluding their health centers from the Medicaid Women’s Health Program. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Austin, … Continue reading →

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The Texas bait and switch

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

You almost have to admire the sheer brazenness of it all. Almost. In a fiscal switcheroo, Texas could free up state dollars to fund the embattled Women’s Health Program by seeking federal block grants for other programs, the state’s health … Continue reading →

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Perry’s empty promise on the Women’s Health Program

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Our Governor talks big, but his words have no meaning. The state will find the cash to continue a women’s health program whose federal funding is threatened because of a decision to keep Planned Parenthood from participating, Gov. Rick Perry … Continue reading →

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A place to start

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

At least one elected Republican is feeling a bit angsty about the Republican war on women’s health. For some GOP lawmakers, the issue gets deeply personal, and the line between party loyalty, allegiance to anti-abortion politics and public health is … Continue reading →

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Who cares about women, anyway?

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The state of Texas certainly doesn’t. If there was any hope that the state was seeking a compromise with the federal government over Texas’ Women’s Health Program, it’s fading fast. At the direction of lawmakers and Texas Attorney General Greg … Continue reading →

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As always, the hole is bigger than we thought

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Remember how the Republicans in the Lege underfunded Medicaid by $4.5 billion, which they will have to tap the Rainy Day Fund in 2013 to deal with, in order to make the budget for this biennium appear to be “balanced”? … Continue reading →

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Feds may prevent some cuts to Planned Parenthood

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good news, at least potentially. Stephanie Goodman of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission confirms that the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services sent a bulletin advising state officials that federal rules do not permit states to ban … Continue reading →

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Senate restores some funds to Health and Human Services

Posted on April 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Still not clear how they’re paying for any of it yet. The Senate Finance Committee voted Thursday to restore a less-than-expected $4.3 billion in health spending in 2012-13 but promised to try to find more money in the coming weeks. … Continue reading →

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Get ready for another Medicaid lawsuit

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the very likely outcome if proposed cuts to Medicaid reimbursement rates go through. “You cut rates an additional 10 percent, I’m not sure I can comply with the access provision,” Thomas Suehs, commissioner of the state Health and Human … Continue reading →

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One Republican for the Rainy Day Fund

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

State Sen. Kevin Eltife says what I suspect more than a few Republican legislators are thinking. “We have to find more revenue,” the former Tyler mayor and senator of seven years said [Thursday] morning during a committee hearing. “It’s insane … Continue reading →

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It’s not just teachers’ jobs that are on the line

Posted on February 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Many other people will be thrown out of work under a cuts-only budget. “I don’t know that I’ll be able to stay in business,” said Jerre van den Bent, owner of Dallas-based Therapy 2000, a 3,000-employee agency helping children with … Continue reading →

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Business leaders urged to oppose “cuts only” approach to the budget

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck with that. Former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby is helping lead an effort to rally Texas business leaders against what he calls a “catastrophic” cuts-only approach to balancing the state’s budget in the face of a massive shortfall, estimated … Continue reading →

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These are only “hard choices” for some people

Posted on January 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I suspect that for too many members of the incoming Legislature, the decisions they’ll be making about the budget will be ones they’re not at all uncomfortable with. The Legislature’s Republican leadership will confront weighty questions, such as how many … Continue reading →

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New flash: Dropping Medicaid would be bad

Posted on December 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t take my word for it, take the Texas Department of Health and Human Services’ word for it. Opting out of federal Medicaid, something Republican leaders have been considering as a method to wipe out Texas’ estimated $25 billion budget … Continue reading →

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More pushback from the medical community on Medicaid

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Doctors and medical associations had a big effect on public opinion during the fight over the Affordable Care Act. We’ll see whether that is true during the fight over Medicaid. “Unless our state leaders can come up with a financing … Continue reading →

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No federal sex ed money for Texas

Posted on October 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Stay ignorant, kids. It’s what the state of Texas wants you to do. At the end of the summer, Texas quietly opted to forgo yet another pot of federal money — specifically, $4.4 million that would have gone toward educating … Continue reading →

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