No Other Option
Across the country, medical boards allow abusive doctors to keep seeing patients. And patients addicted to opioids keep going back.
Health Care
Medicare Covered Her Medication for a Decade. Now, She Could be Spending Thousands Each Month For Migraine Relief.
A federal judge in Austin recently denied a patient’s appeal asking Medicare to cover the skyrocketing cost of her prescription.
The Rural Health Care Crisis, Mapped
Texas is facing a rural health care crisis. How many doctors are in your county?
American Health Care is Broken, Especially in Texas. What Can We Do About It?
Physician Marty Makary’s new book shows how sky-high medical bills can ruin patients’ lives—but puts the burden on individuals to demand change.
Warning Signs
Rural East Texas has some of the highest suicide rates in the state. But the safety net for people who need help is being stretched thin, and some Texans are falling through.
‘Breakthrough’ Chronicles Nobel Prize Winner Jim Allison’s Long Fight for Science
Forty years after the immunologist testified at the Texas Legislature in favor of teaching evolution, state leaders are still debating its inclusion in school curriculums.
‘How Can You Do This to People?’: After Rural Hospitals Close in Milam County, Residents Scramble to Find Care
Little River Healthcare shuttered two Milam County hospitals after falling on hard financial times. Now residents are struggling to find care.
SIGN UP FOR TEXAS OBSERVER EMAILS
Struggling Rural Hospitals Say They’re Being Preyed Upon by Blue Cross Blue Shield
Hospital administrators throughout Texas say the insurance company is using “strong-arm” tactics to push unfavorable contracts.
Tinkering with the Human Heart in ‘Ticker’
Set in Houston, Mimi Swartz’s new book delivers an engrossing human drama populated with off-kilter geniuses.
A Timely, Enraging Documentary Humanizes the Rape Kit Backlog Crisis
Texas lawmakers have turned to crowdfunding to test rape kits, absent adequate state funding.