Revised
TEXAS MEDICAL ASSOCIATION HOUSE OF DELEGATES
Resolution 412 (A-07)
Subject: Lobbying for Texas Health Care in Washington
Introduced by: Dallas County Medical Society
Referred to: Reference Committee on Socioeconomics
Whereas, Health care issues that affect Texas now and in the near future are greatly influenced by national politics and trends and are not solely Texas issues; and
Whereas, Medicare is broken and needs fixing; and
Whereas, Congress may, in the future, consider some form of comprehensive health care coverage; and
Whereas, The Texas Medical Association represents over 41,000 "grass roots" physicians in the largest medical association in America; and
Whereas, TMA is highly effective at political lobbying; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Texas Medical Association initiate and conduct a lobbying campaign focused and organized on comprehensive health care coverage for all U.S. citizens with U.S. Senators and U.S. Representatives, as well as the President and his administrative officials, and appropriate regulatory agencies.
Relevant TMA Policy
120.003 Health System Reform Managed Care : To provide a basic framework for association policies and activities in health system reform, the Texas Medical Association: (1) supports the concept of universal access to appropriate health care; (2) supports freedom of patients to select their own physicians; (3) supports meaningful professional liability reform for physicians as a key element of health system reform; (4) supports genuine relief from red-tape hassles and excessive administrative costs of health care; (5) supports freedom from unreasonable restrictions, including antitrust prohibitions, that prevent physicians from conducting peer review of quality and fees; (6) continues to support a health care system that includes a multiplicity of funding sources and payment mechanisms; (7) supports the right of a physician organization to negotiate at the federal or state level for payment of physician services, quality and utilization review, professional liability reform, and to reduce the hassle and cost of regulation; (8) continues to support sufficient autonomy for physicians to be advocates for patients and to make decisions in the best interests of their patients; (9) supports efforts to control costs in an efficient and effective manner that considers the needs of patients and allows the exercise of good medical judgment; (10) supports the funding of research and medical education in any health system reform proposal and believes that all corporate payers of health care share in the costs of graduate medical education; (11) supports quality assurance through practice parameters and outcomes research; (12) supports patient responsibility for first dollar coverage to allow patients to make individual decisions regarding their own health care spending with consideration given to patients' ability to pay.
In addition, TMA offers the following principles for managed care for adoption as AMA policy: (1) physician participation in any managed care organization he/she chooses, (2) patient freedom to select his or her own physician, (3) physician autonomy and freedom to be patient advocates (Second Supplemental Board of Trustees, p 36P-36S, A-93; amended CS
TMA House of Delegates: TexMed 2007