Two new bills introduced in the Texas Legislature could jeopardize the care received by Medicaid patients, writes Vivian Ho, the James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics. She explains why the legislation would weaken county-owned insurance plans and raise Texans’ tax bills.
In the United States, drug overdose deaths are on the rise. In 2022, CDC researchers reported that 110,236 people died from an overdose in a single 12-month period, setting a new record. Synthetic opioid overdose deaths, primarily due to fentanyl, increased nearly 7.5-fold from 2015 to 2021. In Texas, the number of fentanyl-related deaths rose dramatically — from 883 deaths in 2020 to 1,672 deaths in 2021. While Republican lawmakers in Texas have previously opposed harm reduction policies, many have signaled a desire to take policy action to combat the crisis in the 2023 legislative session.
David M. Satterfield, Edward M. Emmett, The Honorable Ed Gonzalez, Katharine Neill Harris, The Honorable Kim OggMarch 8, 2023
This policy report examines the push and pull factors that contribute to the formation of so-called “migrant caravans” and offers policy recommendations to staunch the flow of migrants through Mexico.
If implemented, the Handle with Care program could provide a significant opportunity to help students facing trauma, write scholar Christopher Kulesza and co-author Abigail Levine. Their new policy brief urges Texas legislators to enact the program statewide.
Christopher F. Kulesza, Abigail LevineFebruary 16, 2023
Truth-in-taxation measures, which are intended to serve taxpayers, have failed to constrain the property tax burden in Texas, write Jennifer Rabb and Lebena Varghese of the McNair Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth. They argue that it is incumbent upon the government to make tax rate notices clear, relevant and above all truthful.
The first annual Firearm Injury Prevention and Safety Symposium, hosted by the Center for Health and Biosciences in June 2022, brought together researchers, policymakers and community partners committed to ending gun violence. This conference report summarizes the many presentations held at the event, as well as a concrete plan for local action to reduce firearm injury and death.
Sandra McKay, Jacqueline Klotz, Mia Hurts, Bindi Naik-MathuriaOctober 31, 2022
Texas has long been an economic leader, but the state lags critically in a major area: health. A new report by M.D. candidate Kushal T. Kadakia and nonresident scholar Anaeze C. Offodile II offers a road map for improving Texas’ health rankings by 10 spots in 10 years.
Kushal T. Kadakia, Anaeze C. Offodile IIOctober 17, 2022
On October 12, 2022, Katharine Neill Harris, the Alfred C. Glassell, III, Fellow in Drug Policy, testified before the Texas House of Representatives Interim Study Committee on Criminal Justice Reform. Her written testimony addresses the committee's inquiry into policies and penalties relating to drug offenses.
Although Texans broadly support relaxing cannabis laws and other criminal justice reforms, state leaders continue the war on drugs and other policies that propagate systemic racism, writes fellow Katharine Neill Harris.
Jim Blackburn, co-director of Rice’s SSPEED Center and a Baker Institute Rice faculty scholar, examines what the city of Houston has done to prepare for flooding and other extreme weather events brought about by climate change since Hurricane Harvey struck Houston more than three years ago.