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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.

Advancing Primary Care: Medicare Rolls Out New Payment Codes for Treating Chronic Conditions - 03/04/2025

Though the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has introduced another acronym into the Medicare mix, some physicians express optimism this particular one could help practices stay viable.   For Greg Fuller,

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.

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.

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.

Committee on Independent Physician Practice Announces Members - 06/21/2024

After recognizing the dire needs of private practice physicians, Texas Medical Association leaders have appointed the members of its inaugural Committee on Independent Physician Practice with broad representation.

TMA Presses Congress to Preserve Independent Practice Viability - 06/13/2024

Administrative hassle, cyberattacks, and other threats to physician practice viability have caught the attention of federal lawmakers, with the Texas Medical Association weighing in heavily on the attendant impacts on physician practices following a May 23 hearing, “The Collapse of Private Practice: Examining the Challenges Facing Independent Medicine.”

TMA House Prioritizes Noncompetes, Physician Payment Reform - 05/13/2024

The TMA House of Delegates adopted several policies intended to alleviate economic pressure on physician practices. Those include directing the association to advocate for more statutory limitations on noncompete agreements in employment contracts and protections from health plans’ problematic payment policies. Read more.

TMA Moment in Time: SGR Repeal - 04/09/2024

The historic victory has roots in TMA advocacy and may provide a playbook for future Medicare reform.

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.

Medicine’s MIPS Win: 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Stabilizes Program - 03/05/2024

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services yielded to the Texas Medical Association’s concerns about its proposal and the impact of constant changes to MIPS on its participants.

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.

“We Can Compete:” Direct Payment Models Present Opportunity for Independent Practices - 10/13/2023

Rising health care costs. Declining outcomes. Restricted patient access to care. Rampant consolidation. Incessant physician payment cuts. Excessive prior authorization. Creeping scope-of-practice attacks.

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 Fights Another “Devastating” Medicare Physician Pay Cut Threat - 08/04/2023

Despite medicine’s calls for comprehensive reform, the recently proposed 2024 Medicare physician fee schedule would continue the worrying trends of deepening physician pay cuts and increased risk associated with the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System.

Congress Weighs Medicare Payment Reform During Health Care Consolidation Hearings - 07/25/2023

Federal lawmakers in both chambers recently took up the issue of increasing consolidation – and, with it, decreasing competition – in the health care industry. Surfaced as possible solutions were several of the Texas Medical Association’s legislative priorities, including Medicare physician payment reform.