Physician Advocacy

As it has done throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Texas Medical Association continues to stress the importance of wearing masks, practicing social distancing, washing hands frequently, and receiving a vaccine when eligible as the most effective ways to stop the disease.

As one of the most unique eras of both living and lawmaking continues, attendees at TMA’s Winter Conference heard about medicine’s legislative agenda in both Austin and Washington, D.C., and how COVID-19 has helped shape this year’s legislative focus.

Need PPE but have trouble meeting vendor minimums? Have you had difficulty accessing the state supply? Look no further. Now you can use TMA's new Texas-based PPE vendor guide, with information to help locate what you need from vendors that can supply small- to medium-sized practices with little or no minimum order quantities.

Physicians from counties near and along the Texas-Mexico border gathered virtually Tuesday to explore ways to protect patients from COVID-19, which continues to spread rapidly throughout the region.

Like most independent medical practice physicians struggling to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic, Austin pediatrician Brian Temple, MD, had to make a critical choice: reduce salaries and work hours, or lose the staff and pediatric practice he and his partner had built over six years.

Under Texas law, physicians treating COVID-19 patients in a volunteer capacity have potential defenses against lawsuits that might arise from that care.

TMA published an excerpt from our newest Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document that covered a particularly vexing question from physicians: What if a patient refuses to wear a face covering and no exception applies? Today we present the entire FAQ, which is intended to provide more clarity on TMB’s minimum standards.

As state and federal governments distribute funds and waivers to help health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas pediatricians feel their needs have been unmet.

TMA submitted written testimony Tuesday to the House Committee on Insurance, providing details and recommendations on price gouging, surprise medical bills, health insurance premiums, and more caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

State leaders need to work with organizations like the Texas Medical Association to ensure that all Texans have access to health care coverage during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. That is the message TMA and 32 state health organizations wrote in a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott seeking his support to enact comprehensive health care coverage initiatives.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Monday withdrew a proposed rule that would’ve restricted how states fund their share of Medicaid, causing serious cuts in services.

I call for our TMA to bring all of these groups together to directly address the issue of the uninsured in Texas, to plan a strategy, and to put it in motion.

At the 2020 Texas Medical Association Advocacy Retreat on Saturday, Debra Patt, MD, chair of TMA’s Council on Legislation, laid out a preview of medicine’s top legislative priorities for the upcoming session.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is waiving state scope-of-practice laws in an interim rule that takes effect Thursday, effectively allowing VA nonphysician practitioners to practice across state lines at VA facilities without physician overs

A broad swath of organized medicine, including the Texas Medical Association, is asking congressional leadership to oppose a bill that legally would consider clinical psychologists to be physicians within Medicare, saying it “inappropriately” expands psychologists’ scope of practice.

When President Donald Trump released an executive order earlier this month that would, in part, expand the scope of practice of nonphysician practitioners, the Texas Medical Association vowed to keep physicians at the head of the health care team. On Monday, TMA President David Fleeger, MD, took a major step to do that, urging President Trump and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar to remove that language entirely.

The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) is obviously intent on picking a fight with physicians. No thanks. We’ll take the high road, fully aware of the dangers of their plans, and stick with what we know is best for our patients: the physician-led health care team.

Final tallies in federal races may still be pending, but Texas voters have spoken. Loudly. And their votes will help medicine maintain a strong voice in the Texas Legislature.

The Texas Medical Association and California Medical Association applauded a bipartisan group of U.S. senators for introducing a bill that addresses physician shortages and improves access to care, particularly in children’s hospitals and nonprofit hospitals.