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House Passes SGR Fix Bill; Burgess Is Lone Republican to Vote “AYE”
The U.S. House of Representatives today (Nov. 19, 2009) passed HR 3961 on a 243-183 vote. Rep. Michael Burgess, MD (R-Lewisville), was the only Republican to vote for HR 3961.
CMS Moves Ahead With Medicare Fee Cut
Unless Congress intervenes (again), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will cut payments to physicians by 21.2 percent on Jan. 1. (Action, Nov. 16, 2009)
AMA Honors Dr. Goodman
The American Medical Association has recognized the tremendous service that TMA Executive Vice President/Chief Executive Officer Louis J. Goodman, PhD, has provided to the profession of medicine. (Action, Nov. 16, 2009)
Workers' Comp Conversion Factors
Thanks to TMA's continuing efforts to improve the workers' compensation system for physicians and patients, the 2010 workers' compensation Medical Fee Guideline conversion factors will increase. (Action, Nov. 16, 2009)
House Passes Health Reform Bill Without SGR Fix or Liability Reforms
By a five-vote margin, the U.S. House of Representatives late Saturday night passed HR 3962, Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s health system reform bill. (Nov. 9, 2009)
TEXPAC Endorses Gov. Rick Perry for Reelection
Calling Governor Perry a sound leader on patient care issues, TEXPAC, the political arm of the Texas Medical Association (TMA), announced today that the organization has endorsed Texas Gov. Rick Perry for reelection in 2010. More... (Nov. 2, 2009)
FTC Delays Red Flags Rule Until June
Congressional pressure has prompted the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to delay implementation of its "red flags rule" until June 1. Agency officials said in a news release it postponed the rule at the request of members of Congress. It had been scheduled to take effect Nov. 1. (Action, Nov. 2, 2009)
Leaders Chart TMA's 2011 Legislative Priorities
More than 100 physician and TMA Alliance leaders at the TMA/TEXPAC/specialty society legislative retreat began laying the groundwork for medicine’s strategic priorities in the 2011 session of the Texas Legislature. More...
Senate Fails to Act on Medicare
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday fell short of the 60 votes necessary to begin debate on S 1776 by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), the "Medicare Physician Fairness act of 2009." The motion failed on a vote of 47-53. Both senators from Texas – John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison – voted "no" along with all of their Republican colleagues and numerous Democrats in a roll-call vote whose outcome was known even before it began. More...
Blue Cross Doctor Data Stolen
Blue Cross and Blue Shield officials say a laptop computer with a file containing identifying information for every physician in the country who contracts with a Blue Cross-affiliated insurance plan was stolen in August. (Action, Oct. 16, 2009)
TMA Offers Congress Insights on Reform
Noting that physicians "should advocate for the well-being of their patients," Texas Medical Association President William H. Fleming III, MD, has written Texas members of Congress that the state's physicians "stand ready to help our patients – your constituents – obtain the health insurance coverage that meets their needs and keep it when they need it most." (Action, Oct. 2, 2009)
Report: Variations in Health Costs Driven by Economic and Health Factors
Poverty and poor health, not pervasive overtreatment and overtesting, are the causes of much of the geographic variation in health care spending in the United States, according to a new report from the Physicians’ Foundations.
Use Your Own Billboards
Do you want to influence the message your patients receive on health system reform? You can. All you have to do is use your waiting room and exam room walls. (Action, Sept. 1, 2009)
TMA "Deeply Troubled" by House Health Reform Bill
The U.S. House of Representatives' proposal to reform the nation's health care system is inadequate because it doesn't permanently fix the Medicare payment system and doesn't include medical liability reform, Texas Medical Association leaders say in a letter to the Texas House delegation. (Action Special Report, July 17, 2009)
Physicians Caught in Bureaucratic Nightmare While Medicaid Children Suffer
While only two-thirds of Texas doctors treat Medicaid patients, a Texas government agency is using tactics that might turn more doctors away from the program, according to TMA. More... (July 14, 2009)
Medicare Fee Cuts Show Need for Reform Now
As expected, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has formally proposed cutting Medicare payments to physicians by 21.5 percent next year. That, says Texas Medical Association President William H. Fleming III, MD, emphasizes the need for Congress to adopt TMA's Texas Medicare Manifesto II to create a system that is fair to physicians and protects patients' access to care. (Action, July 6, 2009)
2009 Legislative Summary
Texas lawmakers followed the Texas Medical Association's Doctor's Orders: TMA's Prescription for a Healthy Texas and took important steps to reform health insurance, increase access to health care, preserve the patient-physician relationship, and improve the health of all Texans during the 81st Texas Legislature. More... (PDF, June 17, 2009)
TMA: Reform Must Provide Patient Access While Protecting Freedoms
In response to American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates debate on health system reform and President Obama’s address to the house Monday, the Texas Medical Association (TMA) issued a joint statement from TMA President William H. Fleming III, MD; Nancy W. Dickey, MD, chair of the TMA Health System Reform Task Force; and Susan Rudd Bailey, MD, chair of the Texas Delegation to the AMA. (June 17, 2009)
TMA's Health System Reform Principles
Your Texas Medical Association will not sit and watch as Congress and the Obama administration develop their plans to reform the nation's health care system. Acting at the direction of the TMA House of Delegates, the TMA Select Committee on Health System Reform has developed guiding principles the association will follow as it makes Texas physicians' voices heard in Washington. (Action, June 1, 2009)
Texas Medicare Manifesto II
TMA and our patients call upon leaders on both sides of the aisle to get to work and develop a bipartisan, long-term solution to the Medicare financing fiasco. More...
Survey Reveals Pessimism, Hard Times
Survey results released by the Physicians’ Foundation depict widespread frustration and concern among primary care physicians nationwide, which could lead to a dramatic decrease in practicing doctors in the near future. Nearly half of those surveyed say that over the next three years they plan to reduce the number of patients they see or stop practicing entirely. The reported reasons for the widespread frustration include increased time dealing with nonclinical paperwork, difficulty receiving reimbursement, and burdensome government regulations. Nearly 12,000 physicians across the country responded to the survey. The Physicians’ Foundation was formed as part of the settlement of state medical societies’ national class-action lawsuit against some of the country’s largest health plans. As foundation president, I hope to use these results to develop policies and programs that can help save private practice and keep physicians in practice. (Nov. 24, 2008)
Last Published: 11/20/2009
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