Rural Texas Reporter

Texas Rural Reporter is a media source covering rural Texas politics & culture.

[Rural Texas Reporter @TxRuralReport]

ICYMI: Real parental consent means a parent approves an app BEFORE their child downloads an app. The Parents Over Platforms Act does none of that. @FairlyForTexas #txlege
https://t.co/uUSyqbvewq

[Rural Texas Reporter @TxRuralReport]

PBMs. Insurers. Drugmakers. They all affect what you pay at the pharmacy counter — rural communities feel the pain first when local pharmacies are being squeezed out. Time for transparency & real #PBMReform. @TedCruz @RepPfluger @RonnyJacksonMD #RuralTexas #RxPrices

[Rural Texas Reporter @TxRuralReport]

This Week's Column "Public Schools Are the Launchpad" for the majority of Texas students -- let's keep them strong. #ruraltx #txed #txlege by @sbellsnyder https://t.co/Mz3zxLdwPv

[Rural Texas Reporter @TxRuralReport]

Rural Texas needs pharmacies close to home. When PBMs reimburse independent pharmacies at below-cost rates, those pharmacies close and patients are left driving hours for medicine. That's abandonment. @RepPfluger @RonnyJacksonMD #PBMReform #RuralTexas #PharmacyDesert

[Rural Texas Reporter @TxRuralReport]

The real question isn't just "What is the drug's list price?" It's "Who keeps the savings — and does your local pharmacy survive long enough to dispense it?" PBMs have been pocketing the difference for too long. #PBMReform @ChipRoyTX @RepRandyWeber #RxPrices #TexasHealth

[Rural Texas Reporter @TxRuralReport]

Texas is growing. Our water isn’t.

And now we’re making decisions that will determine who gets it when it runs tight.

Data centers are the headline—but this is really about something bigger: who our natural resources are meant to serve.

I wrote about it this week 👇

[Rural Texas Reporter @TxRuralReport]

What do rural communities really mean to Texas—and who’s looking out for them?

This Week's Column: Driving Across Texas
https://t.co/uAM4co6FQi

[Rural Texas Reporter @TxRuralReport]

I’ve been thinking about this conversation I had with @leewells…It’s honest. It’s practical. And it’s exactly the kind of conversation we don’t get enough of.

If you care about rural Texas — this one’s worth a listen.

🎧 Catch the episode here:
https://t.co/hWT0I2aYia

[Rural Texas Reporter @TxRuralReport]

We talk data centers, rural economic development, and how he believes he can win over rural red voters in Texas. #txlege #txag #ruraltx

[Rural Texas Reporter @TxRuralReport]

A new Texas Rural Report podcast has dropped, and my interview with Clayton Tucker, Democrat candidate for Texas Railroad Commission.

Link to Podcast👇️
https://t.co/8ndvF580ro

[Rural Texas Reporter @TxRuralReport]

China is moving faster than the U.S. in drug development.
• 50–70% faster R&D
• $25K per patient trials vs. $69K in the U.S.
(Source: McKinsey, Morgan Stanley)
Who controls the future of medicine?
@SenTedCruz @JohnCornyn @RepRonnyJackson @RepArrington
#PBM #MFN #ruraltx

[Rural Texas Reporter @TxRuralReport]

Rural healthcare runs on thin margins and fragile supply chains.

When drugs get harder to source, small-town pharmacies feel it first.

That’s a real risk for rural Texas.

Who will be our champion?
@RepRonnyJackson @RepArrington @RepPfluger
#RuralHealth #PBM #MFN

[Rural Texas Reporter @TxRuralReport]

If your town loses its pharmacy… it’s not coming back.

That’s what’s at stake in this drug pricing fight.

Washington calls it policy.
Rural Texas calls it access.

@JohnCornyn @tedcruz @RonnyJacksonTX @RepArrington

👉 https://t.co/G0h40R7DXf

#PBM #MFN

[Suzanne Bellsnyder @sbellsnyder]

A looming crisis in #ruraltx
@tedcruz @JodeyArrington @RepDanCrenshaw @RepCraigGoldman @RonnyJacksonTX @chiproytx

[Suzanne Bellsnyder @sbellsnyder]

Great article by @GOP Natl Cmteman @DrR_Armstrong. CMS acknowledges rural doctors incur real costs serving nursing facilities under POS 32. SNFs under POS 31 are no different. Fix the fee schedule. https://t.co/OLk4R5exTR

@RepArrington
@JamesBlairUSA
@RepNateMoran
@AugustPfluger

[Suzanne Bellsnyder @sbellsnyder]

Smokehouse Creek—the largest wildfire in TX history. In Plainview, lawmakers, firefighters, air support & ranchers said what matters most: systems responded better this week—but interoperability & utility accountability still need fixing. #RuralTexas #txlege

[Rural Texas Reporter @TxRuralReport]

I hate to be unwelcoming, but it’s never good when @ReedTimmerUSA comes to the #txpanhandle #txlege

Please send prayers for our communities, first responders, ag folks and energy companies who are facing threats today. Pray for the Panhandle.

[Reed Timmer, PhD @ReedTimmerUSA]

The EXTREMELY CRITICAL wildfire threat has been expanded south into the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles today with wind gusts up to 70 mph with relative humidity values dropping below 10%. Any fires that pop will expand rapidly given the dry vegetation and prime fire weather conditions.

Thank you @SethWadleyFord for this rental truck to chase this wildfire threat! #fireweather #redflagwarning

[MyRadar Weather @MyRadarWX]

Powerful winds FLIPPED a semi in Dumas, TX as seen by MyRadar storm chaser @jordanhallwx.

Those same 30–40+ mph gusts, humidity near 10%, and dry fuels have created extremely critical fire weather across the High Plains today.

Avoid anything that could spark a fire.

[Rural Texas Reporter @TxRuralReport]

Vouchers are open in Texas. But for most rural families, the hard work of educating kids is still falling on public schools — with no real plan from the state to fix what’s broken. I wrote about what this means out here. 👇
https://t.co/WvKxAzgGER

[Suzanne Bellsnyder @sbellsnyder]

HB 13 by @KingForTexas would have provided grants to local governments for emergency warning systems.
It died in the Texas Senate, and @wesvirdelltx, who represents Kerrville, voted against it.
@Burrows4TX @toddahunter @GovAbbottPress @DanPatrick

Lessons not Learned. , by @sbellsnyder https://t.co/0VR0HqwjFw