Health

After four straight years of Affordable Care Act-inspired gains, Texas’ uninsured rate for adults took a step back in 2017, according to newly released numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau. About 4.8 million Texas adults, 17.3 percent of the population, do not have health insurance, up from 4.5 million and…

It’s hard to figure out if any of this is going to matter. An hour before a hearing that could go a long way toward determining the final fate of the Affordable Care Act, and Justin Nelson, the guy trying to take down the guy trying to take down Obamacare…

A federal lawsuit that could end up harming millions of Texans kicks off in earnest this morning in Fort Worth. A coalition of states, led by Texas and its attorney general, Ken Paxton, will argue in front of a federal judge that the Affordable Care Act, despite being ruled constitutional…

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is about to find out if the Affordable Care Act covers cutting off your nose to spite your face. Last month, as filings in the Paxton-led lawsuit against President Barack Obama’s signature achievement piled up in federal court, the Texas attorney general slipped a new…

A Northwest Dallas resident is the first person to die from West Nile Virus in Dallas County in 2018, Dallas County Health and Human Services said Tuesday. The patient lived in the 75229 ZIP code area north of Love Field Airport. DCHHS did not disclose any additional details in order…

His brain was bouncing. Eyes involuntarily darting. Left arm numb, dangling uselessly. Lincoln Coleman was in trouble. But on Thanksgiving 1993 on that memorable, sleet-covered field at Texas Stadium, he stubbornly persuaded himself not to call for medical attention and leave the Dallas Cowboys’ clash against the Miami Dolphins. He…

Three-quarters of Texans get it, according to the Texas Lyceum’s annual poll. According to the group’s poll, which drills down on health care topics in addition to Texas’ midterm races this year, 76 percent of Texans believe that the benefits of vaccinating children outweigh the risks. That figure doesn’t tell…

There’s a thing Texas Republican leadership could do. It would save the state money, keep its residents healthier and make Texas a more attractive place to live. It’s never going to happen, however, unless the politics in the state change drastically, enough that elected officials can swallow accepting one of…

The suicide of someone famous, like a Kate Spade or an Anthony Bourdain, ignites a hunt for clues in news media and in private conversations. Some can’t believe their celebrity heroes took their seemingly perfect lives. In the dash for answers to the difficult question of why a Spade or…

In less than two months, Dallas workers’ rights advocacy groups pushing for a citywide paid sick leave ordinance collected more than 110,000 signatures from Dallas residents in support of a referendum on the issue. If about half of those signatures — 60,000 or so — are verified by the Dallas…

Americans pay a high price for health care. The Global Burden of Disease Health Financing Collaborator Network collected data from 184 countries with similar life expectancies and found that the average American spends $9,237 per person for health care access, the most in the world. The struggle strikes both insured and…

Unsurprisingly, Attorney General Ken Paxton and Texas’ Republican leaders aren’t exactly pumped about efforts in several Texas cities to guarantee sick days for workers who don’t get them as benefits from their employers. Paxton intervened in a lawsuit Monday afternoon filed against the city of Austin — the first municipality to pass…

The worst flu season in recent memory finally appears on its way out the door in North Texas, according to new statistics from Dallas County Health and Human Services. Only five Dallas County residents were hospitalized for the flu during the week ending April 15, and for the second week…

In 2013, Kurt Johnsen started Simplified Genetics with $300,000. In 2017, the National Football League generated revenue of $14 billion. When a man sporting five zeroes butts heads with a corporation flexing nine, it’s no surprise who leaves with the migraine. “It’s really a shame,” Johnsen says between sips of…

My beautiful dog, Dorothy, looks gross. I know that. People know that. But Dorothy doesn’t know that. If she does, she doesn’t seem to care. No dog bounces around more, bites at her leash on the floor or makes coyote howls more than Dorothy when she thinks she’s in for…

Four more Dallas County residents have died from flu-related illnesses, bringing the total to 78 dead in one of the area’s worst flu seasons in decades, Dallas County Health and Human Services announced Monday. Each of the victims, who ranged from 66-94 years old, had an underlying high-risk health condition…

Solidifying a schism that spurred several fights during the last session of the Texas Legislature, the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops announced late last week that the state’s Catholic parishes should cut off cooperation with Texas Right to Life, one of the state’s most influential anti-abortion organizations. According to the…

Five more Dallas County people have died from flu-related illness, bringing the total to 23 dead in one of the area’s worst flu seasons in decades, Dallas County Health and Human Services said Wednesday. Each of the victims, who ranged from 38 to 94 years old, had an underlying high-risk…

Zach Thompson, director of Dallas County Human Health and Human Services, is out of the job he held since 2003. Initial media reports Thursday afternoon indicated that Thompson planned to retire Jan. 31, but DCHHS spokeswoman Renae Crutchfield told the Observer that Thompson has been off the job since Dec. 29…

Dallas County suffered its sixth death of the 2017-18 flu season Tuesday, marking another low point in one of the worst flu seasons in decades, researchers say. While there are signs that Texas’ infection rate may have peaked around the holidays, the state and Dallas County aren’t out of the…