Physician Advocacy

Today, the Texas Legislature convenes for its third 2021 special session – and fourth session overall this year – with federal COVID-19 relief funds on the agenda and the House of Medicine hoping to influence how lawmakers will allocate those funds.

The Texas Medical Association is shocked the U.S. Supreme Court so far has not stopped the provisions of Senate Bill 8 that create a scheme of deputizing private citizens to carry out what the state itself cannot do, due to U.S. constitutional restrictions. Meanwhile, Senate Bill 4 is on its way to Gov. Greg Abbott with language that criminalizes the practice of medicine.

Texas physicians made the most of an extraordinary, scaled-back session of the Texas Legislature in 2021. They helped pass laws to curb prior authorization hassles; keep physicians from incurring new practice costs; install liability protections for future pandemics like COVID-19; extend postpartum Medicaid coverage for new mothers; and keep graduate medical education (GME) fully funded.

In a speech concluding a historic and challenging term as American Medical Association president, Fort Worth allergist and immunologist Susan R. Bailey, MD, shared sympathetic and inspiring words for her colleagues as she reflected on a year defined by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The Texas Medical Board’s (TMB) minimum safe-practice standards are no longer in place, the Texas Medical Association has learned. However, TMB recommends practices continue to follow federal guidelines to help stop the spread of COVID-19.