Federal Issue Briefs
Medicare’s Role in Solving Physician Shortage
An adequate physician workforce is an absolute requirement for ensuring access to care for patients, including Medicare recipients. Medicare GME funding can provide a valuable incentive for teaching hospitals to provide Medicare services.
Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate
No business can survive if costs exceed revenues, and Medicare payments are not adequate to cover average costs.
Physician and Health Care Professional Workforce Shortage
Congress must help stop the erosion of the health care infrastructure by funding programs that help train health care professionals.
Disaster Preparedness
Federal funds are important for improving and sustaining our disaster preparedness system. Cutting federal funding only weakens current state and local preparedness efforts.
Vaccine Pricing and Payment
Plans must stop looking at vaccines as a “medical loss” but as a means of preventing disease and reducing health care costs.
Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program
Medicaid and CHIP support thousands of health-related jobs, medical education, and physician training. Medicaid cuts threaten the Texas economy and our ability to teach, train, recruit, and retain much-needed health care professionals.
Transparency and Accountability
Patients need accurate information on copays, deductibles, out-of-pocket costs, and health plan networks to make informed decisions in today's health care market.
Responsible Ownership of Health Care Services
Promote responsible ownership of all health care facilities, whether owned by a physician, hospital, or other provider.
Border Health Insurance Issues
TMA supports the U.S. Senate Republican Task Force to research a model that will achieve our mutual goal of insuring more border residents without undermining the health care system we are all fighting to protect.
Health Information Technology (HIT)
Texas Medical Association calls for an extensive investment in HIT.
CHIP Reauthorization
For Texas and other states to continue progress toward reducing the number of uninsured children, Congress must reauthorize CHIP.
Federal Patient Safety Issues
Organized medicine strongly supports and is actively involved in advance patient safety advocacy, education, and programs to assure high quality medical care and patient safety.
Section 1011 Payment Under EMTALA
TMA is committed to the success of the EMTALA TAG, and undoubtedly believes that it is an important step in maintaining a needed flow of information between the local community and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Federal Medicaid Reform
For the past decade, TMA has collaborated with state and federal policymakers to develop innovative approaches to reducing costs, including use of disease management, and early detection and treatment of high-cost illnesses.
ERISA Reform
TMA strongly supports ERISA reform at the federal level to promote aggressive requirements for prompt and accurate payments to physicians and other health care service providers.