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Texas Delegation Joins Push to Protect Medicine at AMA Annual Conference - 06/25/2025

Medicare payment reform, federal Medicaid sustainability, and vaccination education and safety highlighted the robust debates Texas physicians engaged on during a strong showing at the American Medical Association annual conference alongside hundreds of their peers.

Now is the Time: Texas Delegates to AMA Make a Strong Push for Fixing What Ails Medicare - 06/23/2025

Texas Medical Association members made their voices heard at the American Medical Association’s three-day National Advocacy Conference (NAC), Feb. 10-12, 2025, calling for a long-term Medicare payment fix.

Touting Texas: David N. Henkes, MD, Championed the State’s Physicians in His 25 Years on the Delegation to the AMA - 03/10/2025

David N. Henkes, MD, recalls his first American Medical Association meeting in San Francisco as a new member of the Texas Delegation to the AMA. The November 2001 conference was, in a word, “overwhelming.”

Texas Influences a Dozen AMA Policies - 03/06/2025

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 creep in emergency departments.

Texas Influences Policy at AMA House of Delegates - 12/05/2024

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.

AMA Board Chair Calls on Texas to Help Secure Medicare Fix, Restore Physician Autonomy - 12/04/2024

Attendees of Texas Medical Association’s second Business of Medicine Conference heard a host of economic hurdles to physicians, but underscoring them all is the decades-long trend of decreasing Medicare physician payment, according to the American Medical Association’s Board of Trustees Chair Michael Suk, MD.

AMA President-Elect Acclaims TMA Advocacy for Scope, Prior Auth Wins - 12/04/2024

Texas physicians’ advocacy accomplishments both in the state and alongside the American Medical Association earned praise from AMA’s president-elect at the Texas Medical Association’s Leadership Summit on Jan. 27.

Reform Can’t Wait: Medicine Prescribes Urgently-Needed Improvements to Flawed Medicare Payment System - 11/13/2024

When the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in July proposed a fifth consecutive round of cuts to physicians’ Medicare payments – contributing to a nearly 30% lag behind inflation growth since 2001 – medicine immediately mobilized.

New Unscored MIPS Measure Can Help You Refine Your EHR Use - 11/07/2024

Even though it won’t affect your score for 2022, a new piece of this year’s Merit-Based Incentive-Payment System (MIPS) might be worth undertaking just the same – because it can help practices make sure they’re using their electronic health record (EHR) systems safely.

John Zerwas, MD, Honored for Service as Texas Lawmaker - 09/19/2024

The American Medical Association on Tuesday awarded former Texas State Rep. John Zerwas, MD, its Dr. Nathan Award for Outstanding Government Service.

Texas' Voice: Delegation Shapes AMA Policy, But Could Have Greater Impact - 07/10/2024

Through its delegation, TMA shapes AMA policy – but its impact could be greater   

TMA Members Win Key AMA Seats - 06/21/2024

In addition to influencing a dozen American Medical Association policies at its annual meeting in June, Texas Medical Association members also won key seats in AMA leadership positions.

MACRA: Fix or Folly? - 06/18/2024

The Texas Medical Association has made recommendations to improve the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' proposed rule to implement the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), which results in numerous compliance and administrative hassles.

TMA Moment in Time: AMA Presidents - 04/09/2024

Texas' git-er-done approach has launched TMA physicians to the AMA presidency.

Fix Medicare Now: 2024 Fee Schedule Solidifies Cut, Heightens Calls for Reform - 03/05/2024

This latest cut stems from the 2024 Medicare physician fee schedule and Congressional inaction, both of which further erode physician payment, practice viability, and patient access to care.

Texas Delegation Helps Stop Single-Payer Push at AMA Interim Meeting - 11/30/2023

Texas medicine made its voice heard on a wide variety of national issues at the meeting in Washington D.C., achieving success in four priority areas: supporting Medicare payment reform, opposing a single-payer system, securing tighter restrictions on nonphysician practitioners, and preventing the use of virtual credit cards.

AMA Launches National Study of Physician Practice Expenses - 10/11/2023

With the backing of the Texas Medical Association and 172 other health care organizations, the American Medical Association recently launched a survey of U.S. physicians to better understand practice expenses and to support its advocacy for physician payment reform.

TMA to Feds: Some Proposed QPP Changes “Costly and Wasteful” - 08/23/2023

TMA letter praises the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for its commitment to deregulation and outlining TMA's concerns about the proposed changes and recommendations for how to improve the QPP.

Medicare Gets It Wrong, Re-Calculates MIPS Scores and Changes 2019 Payment Adjustments - 08/21/2023

All Texas physicians should recheck their 2017 Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) or Alternative Payment Model (APM) information to ensure the correct MIPS payment adjustment (bonus or penalty) was applied for 2019 Medicare payments.

Congress Conducts MACRA Check-Up - 07/25/2023

Federal lawmakers seem to be listening to calls for reform for the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), as the House Energy & Commerce Committee’s Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee recently hosted a “MACRA Checkup” hearing to examine the law’s “successes and remaining challenges.”

Make a Penalty-Free Shift From Meaningful Use to MIPS - 07/25/2023

I’m confused about the overlap of dates between the meaningful use incentive program and the Advancing Care Information reporting requirements under the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System. Is there extra work for physicians who participate in both?

Will Health Quality Improve Under New Medicare? - 06/28/2023

Medicare is revolutionizing how physicians are evaluated and paid to provide care, and patients will see changes as a result, focusing in their care quality. As Texas doctors adapt to the new Medicare payment system, many are concerned about the changes, while others are optimistic the transition will result in healthier patients. The switch to the new Quality Payment Program under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) means physicians who care for Medicare patients must change how they run their practice – and care for their patients.

Texas Leads National Charge for Medicare Physician Payment Reform - 06/14/2023

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.

Strength in Numbers: Texas Physicians Shape Health Care Policy at AMA - 05/25/2023

The Texas Medical Association wields its influence in two ways: through the Texas Delegation to the American Medical Association and through membership on the AMA’s various councils and committees.

Physicians’ Economic Impact Felt in Rural Texas and Nationwide - 05/02/2023

In Texas, physicians create more than 670,000 jobs and generate almost $118 billion in state economic activity, according to a new report.