Texas legislation

Scope, Insurance, Vaccine Battles Ramp Up in Session’s Final Weeks as Women’s Health Bills Progress - 05/14/2023

With just 17 days until “sine die,” the adjournment of the regular state legislative session, the Texas Medical Association has been mounting a tough defense against problematic bills related to scope-of-practice expansion, insurance practices, and COVID-19 vaccine requirements. But there’s good news, too, as medicine garnered some successes on those fronts and as several bills to expand access to women’s reproductive health care are moving through the legislative process, after years of physician advocacy.

Key Issues - 05/12/2023

At the heart of TMA's agenda for the 2023 Texas legislative session is protecting the practice of medicine and the patient-physician relationship.

DEA Extends Telemedicine Flexibilities for Prescription of Controlled Medications - 05/12/2023

To avoid lapses in patient care now that the COVID-19 public health emergency has ended, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration issued a temporary extension of telemedicine flexibilities for the prescribing of controlled medications originally adopted in March 2020.

TMA Legislative Priorities Gain Traction as Key Deadline Nears - 05/04/2023

While strongly opposing a number of bad bills, TMA is working furiously to ensure medicine-backed legislation clears the Texas House by May 11, the last day on which bills can be voted through to the upper chamber. Here’s a digest of what’s happening with the budget, scope-expansion attempts, insurance legislation, and public health bills.

Help TMA Fight Independent Practice For APRNs - 05/02/2023

Please contact your state lawmakers today through the new TMA Grassroots Action Center. Let them know you support physician-led, team-based care. Tell them how much you learned in your years of medical school, residency, and beyond. Tell them why APRNs are NOT the answer to Texas’ physician shortage. Ask them to say “No” to the APRNs and to help the Texas Medical Association stop them.

Finding One Voice: Outgoing TMA President Gary Floyd, MD, United Texas Physicians - 05/01/2023

Corpus Christi pediatrician Gary Floyd, MD, has focused his TMA presidential term on bringing more than 57,000 member physicians and medical students under “one voice” and on hewing closely to the association’s long-standing principles.

Medicine Blasts Scope Attacks at the Texas Legislature - 04/24/2023

Nonphysician practitioners (NPPs) are redoubling their efforts on behalf of scope-of-practice expansion this session, including a pair of bills that seek full independent practice authority for advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs). But the Texas Medical Association is pushing back with equal force, armed with a growing body of research that shows removing physician oversight of the health care team undermines patient safety and health care cost containment.

TMA Decries Scope Bills That Would Allow Nurses to Practice Independently - 04/24/2023

Just three days before the bill-filing deadline, state lawmakers filed a pair of bills that would allow advanced practice registered nurses to practice independently.

Texas House Approves Budget With Gains for Medicine, Teeing Up Senate Debate - 04/24/2023

House Bill 1 bolsters funding for graduate medical education, Medicaid physician payments, and tobacco prevention efforts, heeding TMA’s advocacy. But it remains to be seen whether these allotments will survive when the House and Senate reconcile their competing budgets.

“Gold Card” Cleanup, Network Adequacy Bills Head to House - 04/21/2023

Building on years of Texas Medical Association advocacy, two House committees cleared a pair of bills that would strengthen existing state laws and regulations by further easing health plans’ onerous prior authorization requirements and strengthening network adequacy protections.

TMA Fights Bad Insurance Bills While Pushing for Network Adequacy Protections - 04/06/2023

The Texas Medical Association is leveraging its advocacy power against state insurance legislation that would compromise established physician and patient protections, often to the benefit of health plans, despite sometimes good intentions.

Abbott Signals Support for Opioid Crisis Interventions: Federal Efforts Also Are Underway - 04/05/2023

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in February 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.

Scoping Out the Best Care: TMA Defends Team-Based Care Model - 04/03/2023

As expected, scores of scope expansion attempts have again crept their way into the hundreds of bills TMA is tracking; it's an issue that affects all physicians and patients, regardless of specialty or geography.

TMA Testifies on a Flurry of Public Health, Insurance Bills - 03/24/2023

As of the March 10 bill filing deadline, state lawmakers had introduced more than 9,000 pieces of legislation, establishing a new record and teeing up the Texas Medical Association’s busiest session yet.

TMA-Backed Bills Would Increase Access to Women’s Reproductive, Early Childhood Health Care - 03/24/2023

Twelve month postpartum coverage and a boost to certain Medicaid payments top a list of measures Texas lawmakers are moving on that would bolster women’s health care services, in line with the Texas Medical Association’s priorities for

TMA’s “Battle This Session” Begins: Fighting Scope Creep - 03/16/2023

As expected, several scope-of-practice expansion attempts have crept their way into the more than 800 bills the Texas Medical Association is already tracking so far this legislative session, underscoring why fighting scope creep is medicine’s top priority.

On Guard for the Patient-Physician Relationship: 2023 Legislative Preview - 03/14/2023

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.

House Recognizes TMA Alliance on First Tuesdays’ 20th Anniversary - 03/10/2023

Clad in commemorative scarves honoring the 20th anniversary of First Tuesdays at the Capitol, Texas Medical Association Alliance (TMAA) members stood tall among a sea of white coats as State Rep. Julie Johnson (D-Carrollton) recognized their dedication to medicine on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives on March 7.

Lobbying Tips - 02/27/2023

The involvement of physicians, medical students and alliance members is vital to the success of TMA’s grassroots lobbying efforts. A vital asset to TMA’s professional lobbying team, only you can give your state legislators the most accurate picture about how the issues really affect the practice of medicine and the patients of Texas. TMA offers some tips for lobbying your legislator on the issues of importance to you.

Abbott Signals Support for Opioid Crisis Interventions - 02/21/2023

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.

Bills Threaten Medical Liability Reforms - 02/15/2023

At least two bills have the Texas Medical Association on notice for threats that aim to weaken Texas’ landmark 2003 medical liability reforms meant to protect access to care and patient safety.

Virtual Meeting to Cover Surprise Billing Laws, TMA Member Benefits - 02/09/2023

But if you want to learn even more about Texas' new suprise billing law, or if you want to find out what’s new with the Lone Star Caucus – which represents your county in the Texas Medical Association’s House of Delegates – tune in to a 30-minute virtual meeting scheduled for noon on Tuesday, Nov. 12.

Have Your Say on Texas’ New Surprise Billing Law - 02/09/2023

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) is holding a public hearing next week on rulemaking for the state’s new “baseball-style arbitration” law to address surprise medical bills. If you wish to speak at the meeting, TDI requests you submit written comments or a summary of your testimony by noon Friday, Oct. 18 “to facilitate a meaningful discussion.”

Fix Surprise Billing and You’ll Fix the Need to Report Collections - 02/09/2023

Practicing medicine is our primary focus as we maintain our patient-physician relationships. Physicians do not want to report patients to credit agencies for unpaid accounts. Doing so harms our relationships with our patients. If we are successful in taking patients out of surprise billing scenarios, then credit reporting will no longer be an issue.

Require Network Directory Accuracy - 02/09/2023

The basic product of a health insurance company is a comprehensive facility and physician network for the covered members. Balance billing events most commonly occur when a patient is receiving care at an in-network facility by an out-of network physician. The problem for both patients and physicians is not being able to easily match up the in-network facilities with in-network specialists. While I can find for a given city what physicians are in network, and what facilities are in network, there is no easy or uniform way to cross-reference the in-network facilities with in-network, facility-based physicians who provide services there.