Overview
When the 80
th
Texas Legislature convened in January, the Texas Medical
Association issued a plea for lawmakers to pass physicians'
multi-point plan, "Preserving Patient Care." And that's just what
they did. Led by medicine's numerous champions in the House and
Senate, the legislature passed bills to reduce our uninsured
population, reform the health insurance industry, enhance access to
care, and bolster our public health infrastructure.
The highlight reel will point out that the 2007 Texas
Legislature:
- Enacted a historic 25-percent overall increase in Medicaid
payments to physicians for children's care, and a 10-percent hike
for adult services;
- Allowed no dilution of Proposition 12 or the landmark 2003
medical liability reforms;
- Rescinded most of the 2003 cuts made in eligibility for the
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), providing health
insurance for 120,000 additional children;
- Relaxed health plans' stranglehold on patient
information;
- Approved the creation of a premier Cancer Prevention and
Research Institute;
- Maintained physicians' tax deductions for Medicaid, Medicare,
TRICARE, workers' compensation, charity care, and CHIP;
- Established lower marginal tax rates on the state's new
business tax for businesses with less than $900,000 in annual
gross receipts;
- Instituted changes to protect access to care for worker's
compensation patients and ensure appropriate review mechanisms
are instituted by the health plans;
- Took the first steps toward requiring health plans to use
smart card technology for patients; and
- Put structured physical education back into Texas public
schools.
The 2007 Legislative Compendium details each major legislative
issue that TMA followed and worked on during the session. It
describes TMA's many accomplishments and some "close calls" and
"near misses." Close calls are bills that almost passed, which
organized medicine preferred did not. Near misses are bills TMA
supported but did not make it through the legislative process.
TMA's 2007 goal was to enter the 80
th
legislative session with strong stakeholder support and smart
strategies for each top-priority item. Two tactics were initiated
in fall 2005. The first was to create special ad hoc committees to
study and develop recommendations for TMA's legislative platform.
These committees studied Medicaid and the uninsured, scope of
practice, health insurance reform, and responsible ownership.
The second was to bring together key players at three
TMA Healthy Vision 2010
summits. More than 65 stakeholders attended the summits,
representing medicine, business, insurance, hospitals and other
health care professionals, and government. The summits helped to
build support among political and business leaders, and to develop
legislative agendas on the uninsured and on wellness and
prevention.
TMA Board of Trustees, Council on Legislation, and policy
components already are conducting a post-session analysis to better
understand the issues medicine will face in 2009. The action plan
will include:
- Active engagement of grassroots physicians in local
meetings and educational forums with legislators;
- Participation in the election cycle through TEXPAC, TMA's
political action committee;
- Assessment of nascent physician issues through member
surveys; and
- Participation in legislative interim studies, and formation
of physician work groups to develop legislative recommendations
on key issues facing patients and physicians.
Table of Contents
Last Updated On
July 23, 2010
Originally Published On
March 23, 2010