TMA Positions On Various Issues

• Shore Up Texas' Physician Workforce Shortage
  Texas’ medical schools and teaching hospitals have limited funding available to expand graduate medical education (GME) slots. The shortage of GME slots virtually guarantees some medical students will be forced to leave the state upon graduation. Those leaving likely will not return to Texas. They will take with them more than $200,000 of state investment in their medical school education. (To view the TMA GME position video, click here then scroll down to fourth video screen. Click here to view all six brief TMA position videos.)
• Should nonphysicians gain more medical authority?
  Physicians and nonphysician practitioners work together as a team to provide high-quality patient care every day. They are trained together; they practice together. Physicians serve as the leader of the team because they have clinical expertise and training to exercise independent medical judgement. Nonphysician practitioners work with physicians and provide care based on the level of their education, training, and skills. It's a good model. It's a proven model. (To view TMA policy video, click here then scroll to last video box.)
• Flu Shots for Health Care Workers are Important
  Getting vaccinated for the flu is the right thing to do. It proctects you (the health care worker), your patients and your families. Unfortunately, less than 50 percent of health care workers get a flu shot. The state does not require it nor do many health care facilities. Getting a flu shot is important, safe and effective.
• Do the 10-percent proposed Medicaid cut affect patients? Yes.
  A TMA’s 2010 physician survey asked physicians how they would respond if the state cut Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program payments by 1 to 2 percent. Nearly half – 45 percent – said the cut would cause them to consider imposing new limits on the number of Medicaid patients they accept. Another 25 percent reported they would stop taking Medicaid all together.  (Click here to view a brief video explaining TMA's position on Medicaid funding.)