Latest news with #HouseBill107
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Freshman lawmaker continues push for sickle cell registry in Texas
AUSTIN (KXAN) — A freshman Texas lawmaker is making a name for herself this legislative session, authoring a bill that has bipartisan support, and is now closer to becoming law. The legislation would create a state registry for sickle cell. It's a rare, serious hereditary blood disorder most commonly seen in Black people. And it causes extreme internal pain and infections. What's next for Texans with sickle cell after bill that could help them vetoed? A similar bill passed the House and Senate in Texas' 88th Legislative Session in 2023, but was vetoed by Gov. Greg Abbott. Houston State Representative Lauren Ashley Simmons is a freshman representative, but is leading the push to implement a sickle cell registry in Texas. She is one of six authors for House Bill 107. The bill has more than 50 co-authors who are both Democrats and Republicans. Simmons' drive to advocate for the registry is her daughter, Sydney. 'Sydney is tough as nails,' Simmons said. 'She is one of the most mature, assertive little people you will ever meet.' Sydney has sickle cell and has been through a lot. 'My daughter has had more hospitalizations than some adults,' Simmons said. Because sickle cell is so rare, it's hard to treat. 'We really don't know just how many people are impacted by this disease,' Simmons said. 'It just doesn't get the attention it needs.' House Bill 107 passed the Public Health Committee in a unanimous vote on Monday. Next, House members will vote on it. If it passes the House, it'll move on to the Senate, and then to Abbott's desk again. 'This is a way for us to ensure that this disease is being treated with the same care, with the same attention that any other life-threatening illness that impacts people,' Simmons said. According to the National Library of Medicine, registries are effective for gathering research to help with rare disorders and diseases like sickle cell. 'In rare diseases where patients are few, research agendas do not exist, standard case guidelines are absent, and patient communities have not yet formed, patient registries are an intuitive first step for stakeholders trying to understand the number of people affected their geographical distribution, and the basic demographic and clinical characteristics of the disease. The scope of these registries may evolve over time, maturing from an outreach/community-building effort or a means for a basic understanding of patient and disease characteristics, to a supportive mechanism for research funding and attracting health care providers. As with all registries, a single rare disease registry need not fulfill all goals for all potential stakeholders. Ideally, however, a well-designed registry provides an infrastructure that can support different needs in an efficient way and eliminate barriers to scientific progress.' National Library of Medicine Simmons' daughter, Sydney, was at the capitol as she presented HB 107, watching her advocate for her and so many others. 'Her illness is a priority and important, not just for me as her mother, but this place, this building,' Simmons said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Tennessee governor's bill removes vaccinations, education requirements from welfare program
Gov. Bill Lee's administration is pushing a bill that would remove the requirement for children to get vaccines in order to receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. (Photo: Karen Pulfer Focht/Tennessee Lookout) Gov. Bill Lee's administration is pushing legislation that would remove school attendance and vaccine mandates for families receiving state financial assistance payments. Required immunizations, which met opposition in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, are believed to be the impetus for the bill. After the COVID vaccine became available in December 2020, former President Joe Biden — who took office in January 2021— issued an executive order requiring federal employees and contractors to be fully immunized by December 2021. In Tennessee, Lee encouraged people to take the shots, even when protesters railed against his COVID-19 policies. The bill comes as Congress is on the verge of approving Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic, as secretary of the U.S. Health and Human Services agency. House Bill 107, sponsored by House Majority Leader William Lamberth of Portland, deletes old 'personal responsibility' rules for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families dealing with education and vaccinations children must receive to attend school and contains measures for child support, work requirements and transportation. Trump taps vaccine skeptic RFK Jr. to lead Department of Health and Human Services Known in Tennessee as Families First, the federal program provides block grants to states to help boost needy families with children toward self-sufficiency. Tennessee receives about $190 million annually for the program. State lawmakers put new rules into the program more than a decade ago. But this measure eliminates requirements that aid recipients ensure children attend school, receive immunizations and health checks and for parents to attend conferences with teachers, take eight hours of parenting classes and participate in child support services. Lamberth referred questions about the bill Tuesday to a House Republican Caucus spokesperson. The Lookout received no response by deadline. Department of Human Services spokesperson Danielle Cotton said Tuesday the proposed 'personal responsibility plans' are designed to match federal requirements. Under current law, failure to comply with these education and vaccination guidelines could lead to a reduction in a family's TANF payments by 20%. The maximum amount a family of three can receive from the program is $387 a month, 18% of the federal poverty level. Democratic state Rep. Sam McKenzie said Tuesday he believes the current rules are designed to hold parents accountable by making sure they send children to school and ensure they get the required shots. 'These are valuable things that ensure that these federal dollars are going to parents that are engaged in their child's life,' McKenzie said. 'And to see that list of cuts, to me it's a poor piece of legislation, and it's going to lead to poor parenting.' The new bill contains no accountability requirements for parents and no fine for failing to meet the 'personal responsibility' guidelines, McKenzie said. He predicted an 'erosion' in what he considers an effective program. Lawmakers have been trying to increase the program's financial distributions since the revelation a few years ago that the state had a $730 million surplus in the TANF fund, money that comes to Tennessee from the federal government. That amount peaked at $798.3 million in 2021 but was still at $717 million a year ago. A spokesperson with Lee's office didn't respond to questions from the Lookout Tuesday. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
