Stories from Texas Medicine, April 2021

Federal Fairness? Congressional Measure Addresses Out-of-Network Payments - 02/10/2023

Congress in December 2020 passed surprise-billing legislation as part of a wide-ranging coronavirus relief bill, tying a bow on federal lawmakers’ primary health care focus just prior to COVID-19. Texas already had set up its own system for state-regulated plans in 2019 with Senate Bill 1264, which took effect last year.

GME Momentum: Preserving Texas' Steady Progress in Building Residency Positions - 08/27/2021

TMA fights state budget cuts to preserve Texas’ steady progress in building residency positions.

Talk to Patients About: Vaccines and Cancer - 04/01/2021

Vaccines are one of medicine’s best tools against cancer. The shots for human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis B prevent a range of cancers and save thousands of lives each year. But anti-vaccine advocates have tried – incorrectly – to paint just the opposite picture in several ways.

Keeping Children Safe: Prevention a More Prevalent Approach to Address Child Abuse, Neglect - 04/01/2021

Physicians, especially pediatricians and family doctors, are trained to recognize signs of abuse and neglect and are legally obligated to report them. That is a vital approach for combatting the problem. However, physicians and other child abuse experts are turning more and more toward prevention.

Routine Screen: Regular Testing Needed to End HIV Epidemic - 04/01/2021

Testing is one of the best ways to combat HIV infection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends routine testing for patients between the ages of 13 to 64. Yet, fewer than 40% of eligible people have ever had an HIV test, according to a 2019 CDC study.

Threat Level High: Ransomware a Bigger Threat - 04/01/2021

COVID-19 has made a booming illicit business – ransomware – boom even louder. And the more medical practices and organizations fall victim to ransomware cyberattacks, the more illustrative it becomes how important it is to prevent such an attack.

Shelter in a Storm: Liability Legislation Would Protect Physicians in Disaster - 04/01/2021

The Texas Alliance for Patient Access (TAPA) announced in early March that Sen. Kelly Hancock (R-North Richland Hills) and Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano) would soon file COVID-19 liability legislation that would enhance liability protections to shield more physicians from lawsuits for care delivered during pandemics, hurricanes, and other catastrophic events that inject chaos into their good-faith medical efforts.

Medicine Trains Its Sight on Scope Expansions - 04/01/2021

A court decision siding with chiropractors is the latest of many scope tests in the legislature and the law.