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  • iconTexas Medicine Today - November 2025 - 11/20/2025 11:43:26 PM

    Nov. 21, 2025 Physicians Must Refund Medicare Overpayments Voluntarily New Medicaid Managed Care Laws Lauded as Wins for Texas Patients Obesity Rate Continues to Hike Among Adult Texans Nov. 20, 2025 Education Center Improvements Streamlin...

  • iconIncident to Billing Criteria (Medicare Option #2) - 11/18/2025 11:29:21 PM

    [ Defined | Reimbursement | Provider Numbers | Requirements | Physician-Directed Clinics |  Hospital Settings | Employment Criteria ] Defined "Incident to" services are defined as services or supplies furnished as an integral, although inc...

  • iconRetirement or Sale of a Practice Checklist - 11/17/2025 9:14:54 PM

    Notify patients.  Notify employees.  Evaluate the terms of the lease and give notice to landlord as required, or consider options to renegotiate if the lease is of longer duration than the time the physician wishes to remain in practice.&...

  • iconFiling a Compliant With the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) - 11/13/2025 10:02:43 PM

    You can obtain TDI's physician/provider complaint form from: The TDI website. You can either print out the form and mail, fax or submit it online. For online submissions, you must mail or fax to TDI supporting documents, along with a print-out of th...

  • iconStark Self-Referral Laws and Regulations - 11/13/2025 8:55:01 PM

    In 1989, Representative Fortney “Pete” Stark of California authored H.R. 5198, a bill that proposed to prohibit physician “self-referral” for certain clinical laboratory services. The statutory provisions that passed related to clinical laboratory se...

  • iconTest Your Office for Patient Confidentiality - 11/10/2025 10:23:35 PM

    Here are a few simple ways to test your office for patient confidentiality:  Sit in the patients' waiting area and listen to the front desk. Can you hear discussions of patients' financial status or medical conditions? Walk throughout the ...

  • iconDirect Payment Model Available to All Texas Physicians Under New State Law - 11/10/2025 6:13:37 PM

    Ten years after the Texas Legislature passed a law allowing primary care physicians to enter into a certain kind of direct payment arrangement with patients – bypassing the process of receiving reimbursement through insurance companies – state lawmak...

  • iconPivoting Toward the Future: Progress in the Physician Workforce Grows Apace With the State’s Population - 11/7/2025 9:06:13 PM

    A godsend. That’s how Celeste Caballero, MD, describes the physician student loan repayment program that encouraged her to set down roots in San Angelo twice as long as the repayment terms required. Doubling down on her four-year commitment to pract...

  • iconBoards, Councils, Committees, and Sections - 11/6/2025 5:15:00 PM

    TMA Governance Structure Boards Councils Committees Sections   If you are interested in joining a council or committee, e-mail Connie Webster. To learn more about other leadership opportunities, please visit here. Many council...

  • icon76_Texas_Medicine_Text - 11/3/2025 4:39:38 PM

    Texas Medicine Increases in GME funding and training programs. Measures to improve rural access to care. Scholarships for aspiring physicians provided by regional medical alliances. New pathways to medical licenses. State officials and the family of...

  • iconMedicare as Secondary Payer - 10/24/2025 10:31:48 PM

    When Medicare is the secondary payer (MSP), you must first submit the claim to the primary insurer. If, after processing the claim, the primary insurer does not pay in full for the services, you can submit the claim to Medicare for consideration of s...

  • iconTexas to Seek Federal Rural Health Care Funding with TMA Support - 10/13/2025 4:11:29 PM

    As states prepare to receive a potential share of $50 billion in federal funding intended to bolster rural health care innovations across the country, the Texas Medical Association has worked diligently to help strengthen Texas’ submission. ...

  • iconDonate Blood at TexMed - 10/10/2025 7:02:43 PM

      Attendees of TMA’s TexMed 2026 in Corpus Christi will have the opportunity to donate blood on site during the conference on Friday, April 17, and Saturday, April 18.  The blood drive is co-hosted by TMA’s Committee on Emergency Med...

  • iconFederal Changes Allow Payment for Direct Primary Care Via Health Savings Accounts - 9/29/2025 3:32:50 PM

    Patients will soon be able to pay for direct primary care (DPC) arrangements with their health savings accounts (HSAs) – a change that some physicians say may lead to increased access to care for patients and less red tape for clinicians.  ...

  • iconTMA Board of Councilors Current Opinions - 9/23/2025 7:07:20 PM

    TMA Board of Councilors Current Opinions INTRODUCTION The Board of Councilors serves as the ethical policy making body of the Texas Medical Association. First constituted in 1903, the Board is composed of a Councilor and Vice Councilor from the 15 ...

  • iconHHS Announces ‘Crackdown’ on Information Blocking - 9/15/2025 5:52:05 PM

    Despite Texas Medical Association advocacy to the contrary, increased enforcement is on the horizon against physicians and health care professionals found to have committed information blocking pursuant to a strong admonition from the U.S. Department...

  • iconDelegating to Nonphysician Practitioners - 9/12/2025 8:37:58 PM

    Delegating prescriptive authority to nonphysician practitioners (NPPs), such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, can help physicians manage their workloads and budgets. But doing so requires vigilance to comply with state scope-of-practi...

  • icon“Incident-to” Billing for Nonphysician Services Requires Vigilance - 9/12/2025 8:15:35 PM

    For many physician employers, the subject of nonphysician practitioners (NPPs) and “incident-to” billing prompts more questions than answers.  A physician-led team allows for proper delegation to NPPs, including nurse practitioners and physicia...

  • iconLegislature Boosts Nutrition, Physical Activity in Texas Schools, Adds Physician CME Requirement - 9/12/2025 4:09:34 PM

    Two new laws stand to promote better nutrition for Texans and physical activity in schools, although one mandates an eventual addition to medical school curriculum and a new CME requirement for physicians and other health care professionals, which th...

  • iconTMA Analyzes Federal Changes for Texas Physicians - 9/8/2025 11:50:26 PM

    While many provisions in Congress’ budget bill, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), won’t take effect until 2027, the Texas Medical Association is already at work analyzing what the new provisions mean for Texas physicians with one major...

  • iconTMA President Diana L. Fite, MD: Installation Address - 8/26/2025 10:16:29 PM

      I must tell you all that I really had my installation speech ready in my mind by about one hour after being honored to be chosen as president-elect last year, but:  Surprise!!  The world and our own medical world have changed abrupt...

  • iconAddress Delayed Care Pileup, TMA Tells House Panel - 8/8/2025 7:16:31 PM

    The COVID-19 pandemic strained an already overburdened primary health care system in Texas, making it vital that state lawmakers back measures that encourage patients to see a physician and catch up on delayed care before it gets even worse, Tyler pe...

  • iconDigital Dilemma: Health Information Technology Remains a Valuable Tool for Physicians - 7/30/2025 7:29:52 PM

      The exhausting flood of clicks and messages in electronic health records (EHRs). Rising cyberattacks. A patchwork of telemedicine policies. The rising use of artificial intelligence and large-scale regulatory influences like the 21st Century ...

  • iconSusan Rudd Bailey, MD, 2010-2011 President of TMA - 7/29/2025 9:17:50 PM

    Susan Rudd Bailey, MD, was the 2010-2011 president of the Texas Medical Association      TMA President Susan Rudd Bailey, MD: Installation Address   Biography of TMA President Susan Bailey, MD   ...

  • iconYour TMA Profile and Account Setup - 7/23/2025 9:18:22 PM

    Quick Links Create your TMA Account or Profile Update your TMA Account or Profile Membership Support from TMA Staff Create a TMA Account (For the TMA Website, the Education Center and the Career Center) Go to the TMA home page -...

  • iconTexas Influences Policy at AMA House of Delegates - 7/23/2025 6:38:57 PM

    Physician representatives of the Texas Medical Association last week took their expertise to an American Medical Association House of Delegates meeting punctuated this year by passionate discussions on scope of practice, health plan practices, COVID-...

  • iconTMA Moment in Time: Hurricane Harvey Response - 7/8/2025 3:49:42 PM

     For Beaumont plastic surgeon Benjamin Beckert, MD, Hurricane Harvey could have been a lot worse.    After the August 2017 storm dumped a record 60 inches of rain in four days on the Gulf Coast region, there was some flooding i...

  • iconDivision of Advocacy - 5/21/2025 9:19:42 PM

    The Division of Advocacy directs the association's legislative and political programs, including seeking sponsors and obtaining support for bills to be enacted, working for the passage or defeat of state and federal legislation, and supporting s...

  • iconPatients, Portals, and PHRs - 5/21/2025 3:56:48 PM

    Electronic health records (EHRs) can help physicians communicate better with their colleagues on the health care team - and with their patients, too, to better involve them in their own health care. "Patient engagement" — improving patient...

  • iconMandated CME Requirements Shift Under TMB Rules Revamp - 5/12/2025 6:19:19 PM

    A recent reorganization of Texas Medical Board (TMB) rules has removed certain universal CME obligations. The removal of universal CME requirements could result in a lighter load for physicians but may make it more challenging to determine what ...

  • iconRecord Licensure Numbers Show Steady Workforce Progress - 4/23/2025 6:36:31 PM

    As Texas’ population continues to boom, so does its crop of newly licensed physicians, the Texas Medical Association’s annual Texas Physician Workforce Update reveals.   That report announces 7,609 medical licenses issued by the Texas Medi...

  • iconPhysicians Benevolent Fund Bolstered by Ongoing TMAIT Gift Pledge - 4/22/2025 10:36:29 PM

    In an effort to support physician well-being, TMA Insurance Trust (TMAIT) has made another donation of $15,000 to The Physicians Benevolent Fund (PBF), fulfilling the second of its three-year pledge to help provide crucial assistance to physicians an...

  • iconTexas Medicine Today - October 2023 - 4/17/2025 8:04:23 PM

    Oct. 31, 2023 CDC Grant Funds Drug Overdose Data Collection in Texas TMA Has Your Mandated CME – For Free  Smith County Podcast Sparks Alliance Connections Oct. 30, 2023 Feds Update HIPAA Security Risk Assessment Tool Proposition 8 A...

  • iconCoker Group - 4/15/2025 6:43:48 PM

      Free Technology Contract Review   Coker Group offers TMA physician members free technology contract review services. Coker’s contract evaluation will focus on terms and conditions that may be unfavorable to TMA members. After the contr...

  • iconTMA Calls for Increased Funding to Help TMB Address Workforce Issues - 4/9/2025 6:00:25 PM

    Citing the need for an “adequately staffed and resourced” Texas Medical Board (TMB) in bolstering the state’s physician workforce and subsequent access to care, Texas Medical Association President G. Ray Callas, MD, advocated for the Texas Legislatur...

  • iconTMA Member Sections’ Elections - 3/25/2025 7:44:00 PM

    We are proud to introduce incoming executive council members for each section. TMA Resident & Fellow Section (RFS) Executive Council Samuel Moore, DO – chair-elect; Victoria I. Gordon DO – secretary; James Bunch, MD, Cody Mark Eldridge, M...

  • iconTexas Influences a Dozen AMA Policies - 3/6/2025 5:42:30 PM

    Texas made its presence known in Chicago when the Texas Delegation to the American Medical Association arrived to advocate for stronger action to fix physicians’ Medicare payments once and for all, health plan accountability, and vigilance on scope c...

  • iconCheck Eligibility for Medicare Bonus Following Annual HPSA Update - 1/28/2025 6:25:07 PM

    Following the annual update to a list of health professional shortage areas (HPSAs), physicians can now assess their eligibility for a 10% quarterly bonus from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The bonus is earned by physicians...

  • iconDivision of Membership Experience and Business Intelligence - 1/22/2025 7:50:13 PM

    The Division of Membership Experience and Business Intelligence oversees membership recruitment and retention activities, development and delivery of business services to support physician practices, association strategic planning, conference and eve...

  • icon01.07.2025 Testimony Physicians Ask Lawmakers to Address Manipulative Social Media Practices that Harm Children - 1/6/2025 9:45:33 PM

  • iconAbbott Signals Support for Opioid Crisis Interventions - 11/18/2024 9:06:51 PM

    Texas Gov. Greg Abbott recently listed the fentanyl crisis as one of seven “emergency” items this session, clearing a path toward passage of Texas Medical Association-backed legislation that aims to curb opioid-related deaths. TMA already is trackin...

  • iconEvening Out the Scale: TMA Gears Up for Another Legislative Battle Over Surprise Bills - 11/18/2024 9:04:26 PM

    Surprise medical bills are awfully persistent zombies.  The House of Medicine does what it can to address the factors that increase the odds of patients getting blindsided by unexpected, costly medical bills, and yet, the undead issue rises aga...

  • iconPatient Care Protected: Scope Creep/GME Funding - 11/18/2024 8:21:45 PM

    Related content: 2023 Legislative Wrap-Up: TMA Secured Big Wins With a New Strategy TMA Priority: Protect independent diagnosing and prescribing as the practice of medicine; address current workforce shortages in a way that ensures patients hav...

  • iconPhysician-Led Results: Scope-of-Practice Creep/GME Funding - 11/18/2024 8:21:03 PM

    TMA priority: Protect independent diagnosing and prescribing as the practice of medicine; address current workforce shortages in a way that ensures patients have access to the same standard of care, no matter where they live.    Session re...

  • iconPhysician Input Will Shape CME at TexMed 2025 - 11/12/2024 10:10:37 PM

    Do you have an educational topic in mind to be considered for TexMed 2025?   Submit it now through the application portal by the Dec. 31 deadline.   TMA’s education planning team will evaluate all proposals after Dec. 31. A...

  • icon'Fighting Our Best': TMA Efforts Help Improve End-of-Life Care Bill - 11/11/2024 4:18:00 PM

    Mark Casanova, MD, has a sign in his office reminding him of his team’s unconventional motto: “Stomp Out Suffering.” “A number of years ago, at the end of a team meeting, I just uttered the words as motivation,” the Dallas-based palliative care spec...

  • iconTMA Knowledge Center Improvements Expedite Member Solutions - 11/8/2024 5:45:49 PM

    The Texas Medical Association’s Knowledge Center – TMA’s comprehensive resource hub for answers to physicians’ questions about practicing medicine in Texas – is now live with system-wide improvements, including a new phone line enhanced with an inter...

  • iconUpdate Your Digital Contact Info for Electronic Hospital Notices on Your Patients - 11/7/2024 3:46:10 PM

    Hospitals are required to let you know when they’ve seen your patient via an admit, discharge, or transfer (ADT) notice. To ensure that happens, physicians are required to make sure their digital contact information in a federal database is up to dat...

  • iconInbox Overload: How to Tackle Time-Consuming Electronic Messages - 11/4/2024 5:42:46 PM

    League City family physician Renny Varghese, MD, is often forced to find creative ways to manage his overflowing electronic health record (EHR) inbox.   From allocating specific time in between patient appointments for in-box messages to drafti...

  • iconMedicine, Feds Still Urge Conservation Amid IV Fluid Shortage - 10/22/2024 3:33:51 PM

    Without a clear resolution on the horizon, the Texas Medical Association and American Medical Association continue to urge conservation in response to a nationwide shortage of IV fluids stemming from Hurricane Helene-related damage to the country’s m...