Virtual Panel: Improving Access to Health Care for Rural Texans

Texas is the most rapidly growing state in the country, adding 4 million people, the most of any state, over the past decade. However, Texas ranked 42nd overall in a recent measure of health system performance — in large part because of how hard it is for residents to access and afford the healthcare they need.

On March 29 our virtual panel discussed improving access to health care for rural Texans. The event was hosted by Dr. David Valdez, chief medical officer of Molina Healthcare of Texas, and expert panelists included Kelly Cheek, director of the Texas Rural Health Association and director of community and economic development at the West Central Texas Council of Governments, John Henderson, president and CEO of the Texas Organization of Rural and Community Hospitals (TORCH), Dr. Stacey Silverman, assistant vice chancellor for academic planning & policy at the Texas A&M University System, and Russell Thomas, Jr., family physician in Eagle Lake, Texas. Karen Brooks Harper, Health and Human Services Reporter at the Texas Tribune, moderated the panel.