Introducing the September/October 2025 issue of Texas Observer magazine, with cover art by Adrià Volt, and stories by Michelle Pitcher, Julie Poole, Francesca D'Annunzio and more.
Become a member to get our magazine 6 times per year: https://texasobserver.fundjournalism.org/join/
#journalism #media #HumanRights #healthcare #Texas #politics #USpol #news #disability #nonprofit
It remains an absolute travesty that basic dental care is not provided free on Medicare. I have my regular check today, and while I can afford it, many cannot. This problem is easily fixed and it should have been years ago.
Holy crap! In a world of institutional boot lickers, be ACOG.
The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, rather than abandon #DEI and rubber stamp anti-science policies, told the #Trump regime to stick their federal funding where the sun doesn't shine. 🍑
ACOG and AAP are being everything our media and academic leaders are not.
#Syphilis Is Killing #Babies. The U.S. Government Is Failing to Stop the Disease From Spreading.
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The only drug that treats syphilis during #pregnancy is in short supply.
Untreated, the #disease can pass to newborns, killing them or leaving them with disabilities. As cases rise sharply, the #government isn’t doing much to prevent shortages.
I had an ER visit a month ago and needed to be transferred to another hospital for a procedure.
Same #healthcare organization owns both hospitals AND the ambulance corps.
Hospitals are about 40 minutes apart.
The ambulance is NOT IN NETWORK and the bill was about $7000, or $2000 more than I paid out of pocket for my ER visit, my hospital A stay (5 nights), my procedure, and an additional night in hospital B.
$12000 total. 60% of that for a 40 minute ride.
Fuck this fucking system.
“This is really its own illness, lots of times affecting young, healthy people.”
Millions of Texans have already come down with long #COVID symptoms, and many more could be at risk in the future if we don't make changes. For this @TexasObserver magazine feature, I interviewed both sufferers and medical experts about solutions we can take: https://www.texasobserver.org/long-covid-texas-clearing-the-air/
#news #politics #USpol #healthcare #health #disability #HumanRights #Texas #Austin #pandemic #science
Major Update: The #Texas Court of Appeals today upheld a lower court ruling blocking Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (aka CPS) from invasively investigating families with #trans children https://www.aclutx.org/en/press-releases/texas-appeals-court-upholds-rulings-blocking-state-investigating-trans-youth-and via ACLU of Texas
The Republicans made Swiss cheese out of the ACA over the years. Many health insurance plans now do not provide the same ACA protections (as originally intended).
The Biden Administration is rolling back Trump’s rule that allowed crappy “short-term” health plans that rip people off.
A #Doctor at Cigna Said Her Bosses Pressured Her to Review Patients’ Cases Too Quickly.
#Cigna Threatened to Fire Her.
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Cigna tracks every minute that its staff #doctors spend deciding whether to pay for #HealthCare.
Dr. Debby Day said her bosses cared more about being fast than being right: “Deny, deny, deny. That’s how you hit your numbers,” Day said.
Whatever gripes we may have about publicly funded health care, privatization sure as hell isn’t the answer.
#health #healthcare
Hey my A1C test just came back, whatever that is, and it looks normal.
Sweetness in the blood? I celebrated with 2 popsicles.
Several other tests I guess are happening.
Pretty cool how they ding on your phone when the results are in.
While some athletes have raved about the muffins and others have complained about the cardboard beds, some American Olympians are taking advantage of the free healthcare. Team USA rugby player Ariana Ramsey didn't just get a bronze medal in Paris — she's had a pap smear, X-ray, teeth cleaning, and an eye test. She's posted about this on TikTok, influenced other athletes in the Village to visit medical professionals, and now plans to fight for universal healthcare in the U.S. Here's more from Sports Illustrated.
Update on the "Teach ME, Treat ME" medical education campaign from #MEAction :
https://www.meaction.net/2024/09/04/teachme-treatme-we-cant-believe-these-numbers/
"We tallied up some numbers from our 'Teach ME, Treat ME' campaign to educate clinicians and medical students about ME, and the results are fantastic!
The campaign has been a herculean effort by #MEAction staff and our 16 incredible teams across the U.S and U.K., and we are beyond proud!"
@mecfs @longcovid
#MEcfs #LongCovid #MedEd #CME #HealthCare #MayoClinic #TeachMeTreatME
Why It’s So Hard to Find a Therapist Who Takes #Insurance
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Those who need #therapy often have to pay out of pocket or go without care, even if they have #health insurance.
Hundreds of mental health providers told us they fled networks because insurers made their jobs impossible and their lives miserable.
#News #HealthCare #MentalHealth #Government #Business #Law #Doctors #Hospital #Patients
#SCOTUS allows #HHS to divert funds over #abortion referrals
The #SupremeCourt Tues cleared the way for the #Biden admin to strip millions of #HealthCare dollars from #Oklahoma over its refusal to direct patients to info about #abortions — a federal req that the state says would be at odds w/its strict #AbortionBan.
Last yr, the Biden admin diverted $4.5M from OK’s #FamilyPlanning prgm, which primarily serves #LowIncome or #uninsured patients.
#law #ReproductiveRights
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/09/03/oklahoma-abortion-funding-supreme-court-title-x/
Candi Miller would have turned 43 today.
Under Georgia’s abortion ban, Candi avoided doctors, deciding to navigate an abortion alone. Her death is the second preventable abortion-related death ProPublica has found.
#News #Abortion #Georgia #AbortionBan #USNews #Pregnancy #Health #Healthcare #Government #Politics
#Georgia Judge Lifts Six-Week #Abortion Ban After Deaths of Two Women Who Couldn’t Access Care
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Abortion clinics rushed to provide care after a judge rejected the state’s ban, an order that could soon be paused by a higher court. It’s only the latest development since ProPublica reported the deaths of Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller.
#News #Health #Healthcare #Pregnancy #PlannedParenthood #WomensHealth #Law #Government #Politics #KamalaHarris #Doctors #Hospital
UK voters need to read this and pay serious attention. This is what Wes Streeting and his despicable acceptance of donations from American for-profit Healthcare providers is bringing to the UK.
If it doesn’t make you very upset and very angry there’s something wrong with you. #NHS #Healthcare https://mastodon.social/@QasimRashid/113618572452925991
A Pregnant Teenager Died After Trying to Get Care in Three Visits to #Texas Emergency Rooms
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It took three ER visits and 20 hours before a #hospital admitted Nevaeh Crain, 18, as her condition worsened.
Doctors insisted on two ultrasounds to confirm “fetal demise.”
She’s one of at least two Texas women who died under the state’s #abortion ban.
#News #Health #HealthCare #Pregnancy #Government #Law #Safety #Family
https://www.propublica.org/article/nevaeh-crain-death-texas-abortion-ban-emtala
#Georgia officials have dismissed all members of the state's Maternal Mortality Review Committee, which is charged with investigating deaths of #pregnant women, in response to ProPublica's reporting on the deaths of Amber Thurman and Candi Miller.
#Abortion #Pregnancy #Women #Mothers #Families #RoeVWade #Health #HealthCare
This week's comic: "Protecting the children"
#uspol #comic #cartoon #children #education #lgbtq #climate #health #healthcare #transgender
For-profit death: "A physician, said that after her practice was acquired by private equity, she “was forced to see 45 patients daily with 1 medical assistant. This was unsafe."
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/06/private-equity-healthcare
Seattle Children's Hospital has begun halting some gender affirming care and caved far earlier than most expected in the face of Trump's illegal executive orders.
There's a call to action below and protests are planned today and tomorrow.
https://monogr.ph/67a3f86c0b0ee042476f706c
#Seattle #ProtectTransYouth #lgbtq #USPol #Healthcare #calltoaction
The idiotic (and evidently pampered and privileged) folks who mock "public health" and governmental initiatives to prevent spread of infectious disease and assure that people get basic healthcare obviously did not live prior to the 1950s when, for the first time, parents could spare their children of the crippling disease of polio — due to government initiatives.
Me, I tend to turn a deaf ear to idiocy spouted by the pampered and privileged.
