TUESDAY TOP NEWS LINKS:
Related Video: KHOU 11 News
(5/1/13)
Brenda Salinas, KUHF Public Radio
Houston is home to both the biggest medical center in the country and one its richest arts communities, but those groups don’t always get along. For many local artists, finding affordable healthcare is a constant stressor. They struggle to find ways to cope, from working part-time jobs with benefits to going without health insurance altogether.
William Miller is using his studio in the Heights for some decidedly uncreative things. His health insurance runs out next month, and he has to figure out a way to make things work. He’s HIV positive and borderline diabetic, which puts him in a high risk pool. This is the first time he’s without a safety net.
He got laid off from his job as a graphic designer last year and now he pursues his art full time. He estimates he’d have to sell 9 paintings a month to pay for the level of care he has now.
[…] He’s thinking about getting a part-time job at Starbucks just for the benefits. But that would take him away from his studio, so he’s looking for other options. He found Legacy, a community clinic in Montrose that’s willing to treat him.
They’re helping him apply for federal coverage under a grant for HIV positive patients. If that doesn’t work out, they have a sliding scale fee structure for their uninsured clients.
Kimberley Paulus is with Legacy. She says their Montrose clinic serves many people in Houston’s entertainment industry.
“The artist community is such an important part of Montrose and our culture here in Houston and an interesting component of that is oftentimes those people face difficult access to care. Many of our fine artists and musicians go insured or underinsured.”
Read & hear the full story at KUHF Public Radio
LOCAL AREA HEADLINES:
- Sheriff’s Office finds jobs for veterans wounded in combat (Houston Chronicle)
- Lawsuit against gang members set to begin (KTRK 13 News)
- Kid cancer patients raise more than $30 million with their artwork (Culture Map Houston)
- From North Forest to Harvard: One teen’s journey (Chron.com)
- New Leader Of Houston’s Crime Stoppers Has Tips On How To Prevent Crime (KUHF Public Radio)
- Campaign Challenges Hispanic Kids To Survive A Day Without Sugar (KUHF Public Radio)
- Local heroes remembered in service at Houston National Cemetery (KHOU 11 News)
- USO Houston holds military beach bash (KPRC 2 News)
STATE HEADLINES:
- Perry Calls Special Legislative Session (Texas Tribune)
- State budget relies less on accounting chicanery (Austin Statesman)
- After Texas Lawmakers Go Home, What’s Next for Water? (Texas Tribune)
- 83rd Lege’s Regular Session: What Happened, What Didn’t (Texas Tribune)
NATION & WORLD:
- Groups Targeted by I.R.S. Tested Rules on Politics (New York Times)
- Much of Red Cross fund for Sandy aid still unspent (AP)
- Obama’s Next Big Campaign: Selling Health Care To The Public (NPR)
- From Texas To Great Lakes, Severe Weather Due Again (NPR)
- WHO suspends polio drive in Pakistani city after shooting (Reuters)