Stories written by Amy Sorrel

Resolutions Due Jan. 30 for House of Delegates Consideration - 11/19/2025

With TexMed set a little earlier than usual this year in April, TMA’s House of Delegates is already gearing up its policymaking process. And good TMA policy starts with good resolution-writing, which can be done by any member.

Legislators Can Request Health Insurance Mandate Analysis Via New State Law - 11/18/2025

Though the filed version of the bill would have heavily favored insurance companies, TMA successfully worked to add data transparency provisions to promote a comprehensive and unbiased analysis. Lawmakers also focused on price transparency bills affecting how facilities can bill patients for services.

TMA Policymaking Operates on Physician-Driven Input - 11/12/2025

Every physician can look around and see a policy change or improvement that could make life better for patients and colleagues. TMA’s House of Delegates, the organization’s policymaking body that meets annually at TexMed, is often the best place to set reform in motion.

Government Shutdown: Medicare Continues to Pay Claims for Unexpired Services - 10/27/2025

As of Oct. 15, “no payments have been delayed,” the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said, clarifying a previous notice suggesting a claims hold. Expired provisions continue to include telehealth services.

TMA Monitors Government Shutdown: What You Need to Know - 10/03/2025

TMA is in regular communication with federal colleagues at the American Medical Association on the impact to physician practices, as AMA remains in touch with senior officials at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

TMA Board Approves Expanding References to Evidence-Based Vaccine Resources - 09/26/2025

The decision follows federal changes that represent a departure from past vaccine policies and have raised concerns among the medical community.

Physicians Brace for Expiration of ACA Tax Credits, Uninsured Fallout - 09/25/2025

An estimated 1.3 million Texans could lose coverage due to the combined effects of Affordable Care Act marketplace changes under OBBBA and the expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits at the end of this year. “Physicians are definitely going to feel the effects.”

Medicine Whelms Nurse Scope Expansion Bill - 08/27/2025

Physicians from across the state made the trek to the Capitol to testify that House Bill 3974 would dismantle Texas’ longstanding physician-led care model and with it, patient safety. TMA and the legislature remain committed to quality solutions to the state’s access-to-care challenges.

Medicine, Congressional Leaders Strategize to Expedite Medicare Physician Pay Reform - 08/25/2025

TMA and other physician and congressional leaders from around the country convened an advocacy summit to build momentum for legislation to finally help Medicare payments keep pace with inflation. With nearly 40 co-sponsors signed on, and another pay cut on the way, medicine and lawmakers urged physicians to ramp up their advocacy now.

Texas Leads National Charge for Medicare Physician Payment Reform - 08/08/2025

The Texas Delegation to the American Medical Association led the charge for more concrete action to achieve comprehensive Medicare physician payment reform , resulting in new AMA policy calling for less “talk” and more “action” to ensure access to care for patients.

TMA at AMA: Top 10 Highlights - 07/23/2025

What do chili, scope of practice, and a tornado warning have in common? That would be the Texas Delegation to the American Medical Association, which just returned from yet another successful meeting of the AMA House of Delegates, held June 10-15 in Chicago.

Texas Influences Policy at AMA House of Delegates - 07/23/2025

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-19, telemedicine, diversity in medicine, and more.

CMS Delivers Temporary Bump to Medicare Pay in 2026, Among Sweeping Changes in Proposed Fee Schedule - 07/16/2025

A temporary, one-year 2.5% Medicare payment update across the board reflects requirements Congress approved in its final budget. The proposal also includes, for the first time, two separate conversion factors with slight, albeit permanent, updates aimed at promoting value-based care.

Governor Vetoes Bill Gutting Medical Board - 06/30/2025

The full force of TMA advocacy came to bear in the veto of Senate Bill 268, which would have eviscerated an important Texas Medical Board function: halting the unlicensed practice of medicine by health professionals licensed by another Texas agency.

Insurance Bill Undermining Patient, Physician Protections Heads to House - 05/13/2025

A top target for TMA, House Bill 139 would create a new “employer choice of benefit” health plan exempt from decades’ worth of insurance laws that promise a minimum set of coverage, prompt pay, prior authorization restraints, and other guardrails. Other bad bills with serious consequences for practices also top TMA’s opposition list.

‘If That’s Not Expanding Scope, I Don’t Know What Is’: Bill Grants Scope Shortcut to Rural APRNs - 05/06/2025

With patient safety on the line, TMA physicians showed up in droves in opposition to Senate Bill 3055, which would give certain nurse practitioners independent practice in rural areas. Instead, physicians turned lawmakers’ attention to a new and immediate solution to Texas’ rural access shortages advancing through the legislature: Senate Bill 2695.

Rural-Access Solution Goes Before Senate Committee - 04/28/2025

The culmination of many months and meetings, TMA-backed Senate Bill 2695 was unveiled to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, opening a new pipeline for rural access to care while preserving Texas’ physician-led care model.

Medical Education, Medicaid Get Budget Boosts as Final Deliberations Begin - 04/23/2025

Medicaid, women’s health, and medical education are all winners so far, all topping TMA priorities this session as part of the overarching goal to boost access to care. With a handful of weeks to go in the session and another key deadline approaching, medicine is still working hard to ensure budget wins stay permanent.

TMA Mobilizes Against Nurse Scope Expansion Bill - 04/11/2025

House Bill 3794 is among dozens of bills filed this session that chip away at Texas’ scope of practice laws. While for the most part TMA has stopped such bills in their tracks, by contrast, HB 3794 would open what TMA President G. Ray Callas, MD, strongly warned is a “floodgate” for independent practice by advanced practice registered nurses. TMA urges physicians to act to stop the bill.

Straight Shooter: Incoming TMA President Ray Callas, MD, Aims for Practice Protections, Membership Gains - 02/27/2025

Incoming Texas Medical Association President Ray Callas, MD, an anesthesiologist from Beaumont, cites as his top priorities preventing scope-of-practice creep, defending physician autonomy, and bolstering the TMA's membership.

Scope Bills, Budget Gains Mark Start of 2025 Legislative Session - 02/10/2025

Capping off a robust week of advocacy, TMA is now targeting a pair of scope of practice infringement bills, as well as tracking other measures to advance prior authorization reform and boost funding for the state’s medical education, public health, and safety net programs.

Surprise Billing Rules Garner More Legal Action - 12/06/2024

Pressure is mounting on federal authorities with several legal actions now aiming to stop what physicians and hospitals say is an unfair arbitration process outlined in rules implementing the No Surprises Act, legislation passed in 2020 to address surprise medical bills.

Medicare Pays for End-of-Life Consults - 12/05/2024

As of January, Medicare pays physicians for advance care planning as a separate service, a long-sought victory that promotes educating patients and physicians on the issue. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services created two new payment codes that cover it as a separate service in physician practices and facilities, including hospitals.

On Guard for the Patient-Physician Relationship: 2023 Legislative Preview - 12/05/2024

A pandemic wind-down, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, a possible recession, a national surprise-billing law. The 2023 Texas legislative session is one shaping up to be defined by a host of federal forces, some of them potentially contentious. Nevertheless, the House of Medicine stands steadfast in its legislative priorities. At the heart of the Texas Medical Association’s agenda for this session: protecting the practice of medicine and the patient-physician relationship, whether from criminalization, interference from insurers and other nonmedical entities, or public health threats.

Senate Committee Tackles Scope of Practice in Access-to-Care Hearing - 11/18/2024

In a hearing packed with representatives from medicine, nursing, pharmacy, behavioral health, licensing boards, and academia, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee tackled Texas’ health care workforce shortages with the Texas Medical Association delivering its message loud and clear: Expanding scope of practice is not the answer to helping patients in rural and underserved areas.