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Texas Has Stopped Kicking Thousands of Kids Off Medicaid Each Month During the Pandemic, but Advocates Point to Delays for New Enrollees
Texas' frequent eligibility checks for kids on Medicaid are on hold during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Sophie Novack
Sophie Novack is an editor and reporter at the Texas Observer, where she mostly writes about public health. She was previously a staff correspondent at National Journal in Washington, D.C., where she covered health care nationally and started reporting on reproductive health policy in Texas from afar. She has a bachelor’s degree in English from Dartmouth College.
Articles by Sophie Novack
Texas Health Officials Undercount COVID-19 Cases by Excluding Some Prisoners Who Tested Positive
The Observer identified at least nine Texas counties where current prison cases make up more than 10 percent of the total COVID-19 cases in the county.
In Rural Counties, COVID-19 Cases are Likely Undercounted. Greg Abbott Wants to Reopen them Anyway.
More than 100 Texas counties—many with limited medical resources—will be able to reopen businesses to 50 percent capacity on Friday.
Underwater
Colonias on the Texas-Mexico border are hit hard even by small storms. For a local nonprofit, the solution lies in affordable, sustainable housing. But how do you rebuild in an area that keeps flooding?
Bajo el Agua
Las colonias, asentamientos irregulares en la frontera entre México y Texas, se ven sumamente afectadas por las tormentas, inclusive las más pequeñas. Para una asociación local sin fines de lucro, la solución está en generar vivienda accesible y sustentable, pero ¿cómo reconstruir en un área que se inunda constantemente?
COVID-19 Cases Now Tied to Meat Plants in Rural Texas Counties Wracked with Coronavirus
The outbreaks, which are being investigated by the state health agency, represent the first reported cases of the virus inside Texas meatpacking plants, and are in rural areas where medical resources are already stretched thin.
Texas Had a State Office That Could Have Investigated Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Cases. Lawmakers Defunded it Three Years Ago.
While early reports elsewhere show African Americans disproportionately infected and dying from COVID-19, Texas’ data is incomplete.
‘I Think I’m Gonna Die’: Coronavirus Compounds Risk for Dialysis Patients in the Rio Grande Valley
In the Valley, about one in three people have diabetes. They’re at higher risk for COVID-19, but those who rely on dialysis can’t stay home.
Scientist Peter Hotez on Why Vaccine Development is ‘Critical to the Security of Our Nation’
Several years ago, Hotez and his colleagues developed a vaccine that may have prevented the new coronavirus—but they couldn’t get it funded.
Abortion Clinics in Texas Rely on Traveling Doctors. Coronavirus is Keeping Some of Them Home.
Providers and advocates say the pandemic highlights the need to end bans on telemedicine and requirements like the mandatory waiting period.