TEXAS TODAY
Only 22% of Applications Deemed Eligible
Only about one-fifth of applicants for federal disaster assistance from Kerr County have been deemed eligible to get financial help so far, leaving hundreds without governmental aid more than three months after deadly floods ravaged the county on July 4.
As of Oct. 11, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials had referred only 46% of Kerr County applications for its Individuals and Households Program to the next stage, where they are evaluated to receive money, a Texas Tribune analysis of federal data shows.
That means 1,749 applications out of 3,228 still hadn’t been reviewed past the initial stage.
And among those from Kerr County that officials did review for specific funding, FEMA found only 704 applications eligible — or about 22%. The agency denied 775,largely because people weren’t responding or were withdrawing their applications.
The low proportions of referrals and approvals stand in contrastto nine other Central Texas countiesthat saw significant flood damage around the holiday weekend.The other counties had fewer applicants and reported less extensive damage, and have received a higher proportion of approvals from FEMA. The agency has approved $37 million so far.
Cornyn Leads Republican Fundraising, New Report Says
Sen. John Cornyn has nearly double the war chest of Attorney General Ken Paxton in Texas’ Senate GOP primary after the third fundraising quarter of the year — though in the latest flare-up between the two, neither can agree on which funds count.
Cornyn’s campaign reported a $3.36 million haul from July through September between his official campaign account and his two joint fundraising committees, vehicles that allow candidates to raise money alongside other candidates or organizations and split the profits. Through these committees, Cornyn’s official campaign account raises money alongside supportive PACs and groups like the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
State Rep. Hinojosa Enters Race for Governor
ROWNSVILLE — Texas Rep. Gina Hinojosa on Wednesday announced she is running for governor in 2026, setting up a potential clash between Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and one of the Legislature’s most strident critics of his school voucher program.
“Our fight right now is against the billionaires and corporations who are driving up prices, closing our neighborhood schools and cheating Texans out of basic health care,” Hinojosa, a five-term Democratic lawmaker from Austin, said in her campaign launch video. “That’s who Greg Abbott works for. I’m running for governor to work for you.”
Hinojosa’s entry expands a Democratic primary field that includes Andrew White, a Houston businessman and son of former Gov. Mark White, Bobby Cole, a rancher and retired firefighter, and Bay City Council member Benjamin Flores. Whoever wins the nomination will be a decided underdog against Abbott, who had more than $87 million in his campaign account at the end of June and has won all three of his gubernatorial races by double digits.
_______FROM KERA-TV_______
Rural Hospitals Seek Stabilization
As Texas develops its application for a new rural health funding program, rural hospital leaders say the priority should be financial stabilization for their facilities.
The recent sweeping tax and spending plan includes a $50 billion appropriation for the Rural Health Transformation program. States will receive funding based on applications they submit in early November.
During an hours-long public hearing Monday to discuss the program, several hospital leaders raised concerns that without direct funding, the state may experience more rural hospital closures.
Read KERA’s story at The Texas Tribune.
____FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS____
Texans Bracing for Skyrocketing Healthcare Costs
TYLER (AP) — Celia Monreal worries every day about the cartilage loss in her husband’s knees. Not just because it’s hard for her to see him in pain but also because she knows soon their health care costs could skyrocket.
Monreal, 47, and her husband, Jorge, 57, rely on the Affordable Care Act marketplace for health coverage. If Congress doesn’t extend certain ACA tax credits set to expire at the end of the year, their fully subsidized plan will increase in cost, putting it out of reach. Without insurance, they won’t be able to afford his expected knee replacement surgeries, much less the treatment they need for other issues, like her chronic high blood pressure and his high cholesterol.
“It worries me sometimes, because if you’re not healthy, then you’re not here for your kids,” Monreal said. “It’s a difficult decision, because, OK, do I spend $500 on a doctor’s visit or do I buy groceries?”
Those are the types of choices facing the millions of Americans whose state or federal marketplace health insurance plans will be up for renewal in November. The enhanced premium tax credits that have made coverage more affordable for low- and middle-income enrollees for the last four years will expire this year if Congress doesn’t extend them. On average, that will more than double what subsidized enrollees currently pay for premiums next year, according to an analysis by health care research nonprofit KFF.
