NEW in the "Uninsured in America" project: #KJZZ Phoenix examines how Medicaid cuts could affect Arizonans with intellectual and developmental disabilities who depend on the state's at-home services program. #mentalhealth #disability

Latest From The Watch: Largest U.S. paint maker among those selling high-level lead paint across the border … Nearly half of U.S. kids live in unhealthy areas for air pollution … and more. publichealthwatch.org/newsletter/t...

CEO abruptly departs Laurel Ridge psychiatric hospital in San Antonio as feds terminate Medicare/Medicaid funding over regulatory violations effective April 30 publichealthwatch.org/2026/04/30/l...

From @NCHealthNews ... County social service agencies in North Carolina are bracing for a surge of low-income people confused over new Medicaid work requirements and other changes. Will residents get enough help? Will uninsured numbers grow? publichealthwatch.org/2026/04/30/n...

“This looks like a paper reduction to me ... They don't have to change anything about the way they pollute to meet these requirements.” publichealthwatch.org/2026/04/29/a...

Billionaire William Koch's industrial plant in Port Arthur, Texas, is voluntarily installing pollution controls. But the state's leniency means community members may not see the pollution reductions they'd expect. publichealthwatch.org/2026/04/29/a...

Proud to announce that "Fumed" has won a first-place National Headliner Award for narrative podcast. Story here: publichealthwatch.org/2026/04/28/f...

EXCLUSIVE: A San Antonio psychiatric center, Laurel Ridge, is set to lose Medicare and Medicaid funding over safety violations. Three patients died there last year. #sanantonio #mentalhealth

Laurel Ridge Treatment Center Set to Lose Medicare, Medicaid Contracts Over Violations Three patients died and others were injured as inspectors cite facility for ongoing problems.

California May Ban Artificial-Stone Countertops A state board is considering the drastic move, which could come as soon as May, after an outbreak of the lung disease silicosis among countertop fabricators

Scarcity of mental health resources, prevalence of guns and stigma attached to seeking help contribute to high suicide rates. publichealthwatch.org/2026/03/29/e...

East Texas Hit Hard by Gun-Related Suicides Scarcity of mental health resources, prevalence of guns, and stigma attached to seeking help contribute to high suicide rates.

Fumed Podcast Wins Two Awards in National Business Reporting Contest Public Health Watch’s inaugural podcast, Fumed, has won two Best in Business awards from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW).

Public Health Watch Town Hall on Chemical Barges Draws More than 100  Residents, experts, elected officials and journalists convened in Channelview, Texas, last week to discuss a large and underappreciated source of air pollution.

Workplace Amputations Are on the Rise Over a decade, an average of seven U.S. workers a day suffered workplace accidents that caused or led to amputations. Those numbers are expected to go up with reduced federal oversight under the Trump administration.

Town-Hall Event in Texas Draws Residents and Advocates Seeking Missing Cancer Data Attendees gathered February 19 in the Houston-area Highlands community, home to a notorious toxic waste site. They wanted to know why a state agency refused to provide details on high cancer rates in the area — and…

Two New Top Officers Elected to Public Health Watch Board Retired NPR correspondent Howard Berkes and political strategist Cliff Walker become board chair and vice chair, respectively.

Massive Galveston Bay Barrier System Gets One Step Closer to Construction A January vote to begin preliminary engineering and design work jump-started the controversial “Ike Dike” project, meant to protect against increasingly fierce hurricanes. But not everyone is celebrating.

PHW Executive Director Appears On “Hello Houston” To Discuss Petrochemical Investigation Jim Morris was interviewed on the Houston Public Media talk show February 12 about health threats associated with an infrastructure boom in Texas

Uninsured Rates, by State

San Jacinto Air and Water Town Halls San Jacinto: What’s in the Air and WaterTwo upcoming environmental town halls in East Harris County hosted by Public Health Watch  Register here! We want to hear from you! Public Health Watch will host two community town halls in early 2026 focused on…

The number of mental health providers in Bexar County, and San Antonio, has soared over the past five years, but the growth was heaviest in more affluent northern areas. publichealthwatch.org/2026/01/16/s...

San Antonio Area Sees a Boom in Mental Health Providers. But Not Where Scarcity Is Severe. The number of mental health providers in Bexar County has soared over the past five years, but the growth was heaviest in more affluent northern areas.

Untitled As more people are caught in the economic squeeze of rising cost of living, many are looking for ways to make extra money. A growing number are turning to selling their blood plasma - an essential ingredient in making many life saving medications. In a new series "Blood Work: Inside…

Blood Work: Crossing the Border to Sell Plasma As more people are caught in the economic squeeze of rising cost of living, many are looking for ways to make extra money. A growing number are turning to selling their blood plasma - an essential ingredient in making many life saving medications. In…

Blood Work: I Sold My Plasma in America’s Cash-for-Plasma System As more people are caught in the economic squeeze of rising cost of living, many are looking for ways to make extra money. A growing number are turning to selling their blood plasma - an essential ingredient in making many life…

As Trump pushed Mines to Increase Production, Protections for Black Lung Victims Stalled From federal rulemakers all the way down to Kentucky lawmakers, 2025 was full of regulatory wins for mining companies. Meanwhile, health researchers confirm that deaths from black lung disease are rampant in…

‘Fumed’ Found Problems With Houston’s Industrial Permitting Process. The City Changed its Policies.  Public Health Watch’s podcast highlighted residents’ lack of protection from industrial facilities moving into their neighborhoods — even when deed restrictions were in place. Three months later,…

Special report: Public Health Watch chronicles, in 13 scenes, a fossil-fuel infrastructure boom in Texas that could worsen air pollution in some areas and exacerbate climate change. publichealthwatch.org/2025/12/30/t...

The Loosely Regulated Petrochemical Barge Industry is Commandeering a Texas River People who live on the San Jacinto fear chemical releases and explosions from the vessels. It’s unclear who’s policing the buildup.

Texas Workers Keep Dying in the Heat Despite its blazing temperatures, Texas has no labor protections for heat. That leaves workers, especially immigrants, vulnerable on the job.

Public Health Watch, Univision 45 investigation Wins Regional Emmy Award Univision 45’s 10-minute report, “Bombarded by Benzene,” expanded on a 2024 Public Health Watch investigation based on previously uncovered data recorded in Channelview, a majority-Latino community outside Houston.

Texas Boosted Its Funding for Dementia Prevention, but Alzheimer’s Advocates Want More From State Leaders A state amendment addressing rising rates of dementia in Texas passed with overwhelming approval from voters last week, a key victory for Alzheimer’s advocates and the millions of Texans…

Austin Winery Happy Hour Benefiting Public Health Watch! Tuesday, Nov. 18 4:00 - 7:00 PMNovember 18, 2025Austin Winery 440 E St Elmo Rd A1, Austin, TX 78745 Join us on Tuesday, November 18 for a happy hour benefiting Public Health Watch at The Austin Winery! Come raise a glass with award-winning…

Growing Threat to Heat-Exposed Workers: Chronic Kidney Disease Some experts believe CKD is the first chronic illness directly linked to climate change.

With Medicaid cutbacks on the horizon, millions in the U.S. are expected to go uninsured. In the Mississippi Delta region — one of the poorest places in the U.S. — people are stressed and mad.

As Trump Works to Crush Climate Efforts, Local Projects Persevere at the Grassroots Just this week, the president froze billions in funding for renewable-energy projects in Democrat-led states amidst a wider government shutdown, demonstrating why grassroots climate initiatives are increasingly…

Decades of progress on children’s health coverage is being slowly erased, with the U.S. rate now at a 10-year high. Texas still has the highest rate of uninsured kids, with a total of over 1 million. publichealthwatch.org/2025/10/14/u...

A Community Burdened by Chemical Waste Is Demanding Cancer Data. Texas Health Officials Won’t Give It to Them.  Last year, state epidemiologists studied an industrialized region east of Houston. They reported finding high rates of cancer, but refused to release key geographic details — a decision…

Houston-Area Governments Allow Industrial Disaster Risks to Go Unaddressed Although Harris County has found that industrial air toxics and pipelines can pose a significant risk to residents, emergency management officials say no mitigation initiatives have been developed

What Extreme Heat Is Doing to Your Body As climate change intensifies, heat health risks from accelerated aging to bad decision-making grow worldwide. Here’s what you need to know.

A book on a workplace cancer epidemic by Public Health Watch founder Jim Morris has won the 2025 Science-in-Society award from the National Association of Science Writers. publichealthwatch.org/2025/09/30/c...

Public Health Watch Founder’s Book Wins Science Writing Award A book on a preventable workplace cancer epidemic by Public Health Watch founder and executive director Jim Morris has won the 2025 Science-in-Society award from the National Association of Science Writers. “The Cancer Factory,”…

The Public Health Watch serial podcast “Fumed” has won a Barlett and Steele national award for investigative business journalism. publichealthwatch.org/2025/09/30/f...

‘Fumed’ Wins National Business Investigative Reporting Award The Public Health Watch serial podcast “Fumed,” which profiles two politically conservative residents of a Texas community besieged by pollution, has won a Barlett and Steele award for investigative business journalism. The award is…

Insurance Coverage for Obesity Treatment Is Long Overdue Legislation pending in Congress would eliminate discriminatory rules that bar anti-obesity medications from the same coverage afforded treatments of other chronic diseases. But its fate is uncertain.

Video: Telling the Stories of the Uninsured Reporter Kim Krisberg talks about what she found in reporting a story about low-income Texans who have epilepsy but lack health insurance.

A shortage of mental-health providers and other barriers to proving a disabliity can make qualifying for benefits especially challenging. Federal funding cuts could worsen the picture. publichealthwatch.org/2025/09/22/m...

For People With Mental Illness, the Path to Disability Benefits Can Be Long and Difficult A shortage of mental-health providers and other barriers to proving a disabling condition can make qualifying for benefits especially challenging. Federal funding cuts could worsen the picture.

Having Epilepsy and No Health Insurance Can Exact a Heavy Toll. The Plight Is Likely More Common in Texas. Nearly 300,000 people in Texas have the life-threatening, life-altering disease. It’s expensive to treat, so health insurance is crucial, though often out of reach.