World Mental Health Day – October 10, 2011

Monday, October 10, 2011

Today is World Mental Health Day. This day has been celebrated annually on October 10th since 1992 to raise awareness and promote dialogue about mental health and the importance of funding prevention, education and treatment services. This year’s theme is...

Not All Who Travel to Dallas are Cotton Bowl Bound

Friday, October 7, 2011

Program Officer Rick Ybarra and I are headed to Dallas this weekend!  However, unlike many other Austinites who will be traveling northbound on IH-35, we won’t be attending the Texas-Oklahoma game or the state fair.  We will be gathering with social workers from all...

The Texas Tribune Festival: A Summary of Sunday’s Sessions

Thursday, September 29, 2011

The second day of the Texas Tribune Festival was as informative and engaging as the first. The opening and closing Health and Human Services presentations interacted nicely by laying out the policy arguments for and against the Affordable Care Act. Click on the posts...

Texas Tribune Sunday Session Summary 1: Governance and Healthcare – Who Decides?

Thursday, September 29, 2011

The first Health and Human Services panel on Sunday, Governance and Healthcare: Who Decides?, was as much about decision-making in our federal structure as it was about health care. Leo Linbeck III, president and CEO of Aquinas Companies, kicked off the conversation...

Texas Tribune Saturday Session Summary 2: Health and Human Services Keynote Speaker

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Sunday’s keynote speaker Neera Tanden, former advisor to President Obama on health reform, seemed to tailor her presentation to the early morning session. She said that health insurance is different from other items out on the marketplace because when people go to the...

The one year anniversary of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Thursday, September 29, 2011

After a year-long struggle, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and then amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. The intended purpose of the law was to insure the...