Texas
Texas blocked from forcing 1.5 million people to change health plans
A Texas judge has blocked the state from dropping 1.5 million residents from their health insurance plans.
District Judge Laurie Eiserloh blocked Texas Health and Human Services from approving contracts that would drop millions from the Cook Children’s Health Plan, Driscoll Health Plan and Texas Children Health plans.
These plans were available from south Texas to the Houston area and offered Medicaid STAR and CHIP coverage to predominantly children.
The state’s new $116 billion Medicaid contract proposal was scheduled to remove the three hospital plans, impacting low-income families and forcing them to choose plans under a different provider.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Eiserloh’s temporary block order comes amid increasing concerns that the new Medicaid options could hurt overall healthcare in the state, especially for the financially needy, who often rely on STAR and CHIP coverage.
“The intended contract awards will impose significant harm and confusion on millions of Texas’ STAR & CHIP members,” Eiserloh wrote in a 10-page order.
In response to the ruling, Cook Children’s Health Care System said this will “help to ensure that our members continue to have access to the care they need, when they need it.”
Cook Children’s Health plan primarily serves Tarrant County families under Medicaid and CHIP.
While CHIP was created for children in families that earn too much to receive Medicaid but too little for private insurance, STAR is available to pregnant women, low-income children and adults.
“We would like to express our gratitude to the court for their careful consideration of this matter and for their decision in our favor,” a Cook Children’s spokesperson said in a statement. “Cook Children’s will continue to monitor the situation closely and work with all stakeholders to ensure that our Members continue to receive the best possible care.”
Newsweek has emailed the Texas Health and Human Services Wednesday afternoon for comment.
Cook Children’s Hospital originally filed a petition against the head of the Health and Human Services Commission to stop the new Medicaid contracts four months ago. The new coverage options were set to go into effect in September 2025.
“Our families are worth fighting for, and we’re going to continue to fight until the state does the right thing,” Karen Love, president of Cook Children’s Health Plan, said during a press conference in June. “The stakes are too high, and the consequences are too great to have this flawed decision set in stone. We are determined to ensure that it does not.”
Cook Children’s also accused the state agency of giving Aetna an “unfair advantage” by disclosing copies of competitors’ proposals prematurely.
The trial to decide the overall fate of Medicaid contracts in Texas is scheduled for Nov. 3, 2025, but the state could appeal the ruling or change their proposal before then.
Texas contracts with various managed care organizations, from health insurers to hospital system health plans, to administer its Medicaid and CHIP coverage.
The state has been looking to drop several of the organizations in September 2025, but the new ruling said Texas failed to follow the state code.
Under the new contracts, 43 percent of Texas STAR and CHIP members would have to switch to new health plans.
“So, for the time being, the new contracts are blocked, meaning there are no scheduled changes to the health plan options that STAR and CHIP members can choose,” Louise Norris, a health policy analyst for healthinsurance.org, told Newsweek.
Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, called the decision a “huge win” for families that have health plans under the three providers.
“Over the past few months, there’s been a building fear that the dropping of these programs from the state would create an absolute mess when it came to not just finding families other plans, but also ensuring the same level of care currently being distributed to these patients would continue,” Beene told Newsweek in an email response Wednesday.
“There’s no guarantee this won’t be challenged legally again, as it very well could be. However, this decision does provide a ray of light to those currently being assisted through one of these providers that the service they’re receiving could continue after September of next year.”
For many, the judge’s block order ensures low to moderate income families have access to care that would otherwise be unaffordable, said Kevin Thompson, a finance expert and the founder and CEO of 9i Capital Group.
“This is a win for many families who would otherwise have to rely on stock-based plans like Aetna or Molina, whose primary responsibility is to shareholders, not patient care,” Thompson told Newsweek via email Wednesday.
Thompson, who lives in Fort Worth, said the Texas CHIP program and Cook Children’s were a “lifeline” for his family when his son was born at just one pound 13 ounces 13 years ago.
“These programs are built for families that cannot afford private health insurance or need Medicaid support,” Thompson said.
Texas
Texas Rangers investigating City of Trinidad after water issues, controversial arrests, firings
Trinidad officials mum on Texas Rangers’ investigation
The Texas Rangers are investigating the City of Trinidad following controversial arrests and public water issues, but city officials still have yet to comment to FOX 4 about the investigation. FOX 4’s David Sentendrey has more.
TRINIDAD, Texas – After controversial arrests, alleged retaliatory firings and a litany of water issues, the Texas Rangers are investigating the City of Trinidad.
What we know:
The Texas Rangers confirmed to FOX 4 they have begun an investigation into the City of Trinidad.
“We can confirm the Texas Rangers are investigating. As this is an active investigation, we have no further information to provide,” the Texas Rangers said to FOX 4 in a statement.
Dig deeper:
The law enforcement agency’s investigation comes as multiple lawsuits have been filed against the city over retaliatory firings and controversial arrests related to the city’s water quality issues.
This week, former Trinidad City Administrator and Secretary Lindsey Patterson filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming she had “no record of discipline” when she was terminated in Feb. 2026.
Patterson’s suit claims she was fired after reporting to the Trinidad Police Department that “public funds belonging to the city were being held by private individuals.”
Former Trinidad City Administrator Lindsey Patterson
Trinidad’s current City Administrator, Cynthia Dosier, has been listed as a defendant in several of the lawsuits. She has not returned FOX 4’s request for comment since our first report.
On Friday, FOX 4’s David Sentendrey attempted to speak to Dosier at her office in Trinidad. Dosier had no comment when asked about the Texas Rangers’ investigation.
“It’s way bigger than just water”
What they’re saying:
Trinidad Mayor Dennis Haws previously called for an investigation by the Texas Rangers into the city’s now-public issues. He tells Sentendrey he’s glad that’s finally happening.
“I wanted people here to know that there is going to be transparency at the end of this,” Haws said.
“We need to know that our office is in order and I think the best way to do that is with a third party having eyes on it and finding out what really is going on here.”
Trinidad Mayor Dennis Haws
The investigation wouldn’t have come without Henderson County resident Jennifer Combs’ arrest for a Facebook post concerning the city’s water quality.
“To tell the story to someone they would think you were crazy. You know what I mean?”
She says she’s glad the Texas Rangers are investigating, but that the root of the issue remains: the city’s water issues.
“I’m just ready for all of it to calm down and what’s going to happen is gonna happen, and the rest needs to be done so we can get back to the real issues of fixing the water. People deserve clean water.”
Trinidad Water Saga
Timeline:
The saga in Trinidad, which claims less than 800 residents, began in May following Combs’ arrest over the city’s water issues.
Combs’ post stated that people had been hospitalized after drinking the city’s water. FOX 4 has not verified that anyone in Trinidad was hospitalized from drinking the city’s water.
A Henderson County grand jury declined to indict Combs, who has since filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Trinidad and Gregory which alleges she was arrested in “an act of deliberate political retaliation.”
Since our initial report, FOX 4 has continued to receive images of dirty and discolored water from the residents of Trinidad.
Trinidad officials have admitted the city has struggled to keep its water clean. Combs said the water “looks like the Trinity River.”
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) confirmed to FOX 4 it received a complaint regarding the water quality in Trinidad, and that an investigation is ongoing.
Woman arrested after Facebook post over water concerns
A woman in Henderson County was arrested earlier this month after she made a Facebook post about concerning water issues in the small town of Trinidad. FOX 4’s David Sentendrey sat down with the woman to hear her side of the story.
One day after FOX 4’s initial report on Combs, citizen journalist Winston Noles protested outside Trinidad City Hall with a sign with expletives targeting “bad cops.”
Noles was arrested and charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct for the sign. The Trinidad Municipal Judge, Shellena Bivens, later dismissed the charge.
On Wednesday, May 27, Alex Estrada and Colby Reyes, two former Trinidad employees, filed a lawsuit against the city claiming the city administrator fired them without cause.
Reyes, the former Trinidad Water Clerk, says in the lawsuit that she was fired because she “refused to lie” on behalf of Gregory and City Administrator Dosier.
Reyes’ lawsuit claims Gregory publicly fabricated a story that Reyes was frightened by Noles in order to arrest him, in which Reyes says she put in writing she was “never offended” by Noles.
A law firm representing Estrada and Reyes and Consumer Wellness Center Labs are organizing free independent water testing for people on Trinidad’s water supply as the TCEQ investigation continues.
At a May 28 Trinidad City Council meeting, Judge Bivens was fired as the city’s municipal judge. The issue of water quality in Trinidad was never addressed.
Gregory, who made his first public comments since FOX 4 initially reported on the story, said he had “nothing to hide” in relation to Combs and Noles’ arrests.
Trinidad Mayor Dennis Haws suggested to Sentendrey that the Texas Rangers should investigate the city and its police department after the recent arrests and water issues have come to light.
Bivens is considering legal action against Trinidad, with her attorney saying her firing was unjust. “I’m a good judge. I’m a damn good judge,” Bivens told Sentendrey.
In June, a family in Trinidad alleged that after showering with the city’s water, their teenage daughter suffered a chemical burn.
An attorney for the family provided a preliminary water test strip result that showed “dangerous” free chlorine levels in the Logan family’s water. It remains unclear if Trinidad’s recent water treatment led to the Logans’ daughter’s rash.
A planned meeting for Thursday, June 4 to give an update on the city’s attempts to fix their water quality issues was canceled. Mayor Haws said he did not receive a reason for the cancellation, though a small protest took place outside the planned meeting.
Gregory resigned from his position as Trinidad Police Chief following the multiple controversies. His final day with the department was June 19.
Gregory has declined interview requests from FOX 4, citing pending lawsuits.
Following news of Gregory’s resignation, the Trinidad judge who approved the arrest warrant for Combs wrote a scathing letter against him and his police department.
McKee’s letter questions “the accuracy, completeness, and reliability of information presented” to him by two Trinidad police officers in relation to Combs’ arrest warrant.
What’s next:
Interim Trinidad Police Chief Cameron Beckham told Sentendrey over the phone he has a meeting with the Texas Rangers in the next few weeks and plans to fully cooperate with their investigation.
The Source: Information in this story comes from the Texas Rangers, the City of Trinidad and previous FOX 4 reporting.
An investigation is underway after the Lewisville Police Department said a fetus was found deceased along the Lewisville Lake shoreline Friday morning.
Police said a resident called them to report the discovery around 8 a.m. near Lake Park Road. Officers then began searching for evidence alongside investigators from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office. The scene has since been cleared.
The department said the fetus appeared to have been between five and six months of gestation and appeared to have been intentionally discarded along the shoreline. The medical examiner’s office is now working to determine identity and other characteristics.
Anyone with further information is asked to contact Detective Craig Holleman by emailing cholleman@cityoflewisville.com or by calling 972-219-3620. Anonymous tips can also be shared with the Denton County Crime Stoppers online or by calling 1-800-388-TIPS.
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