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Exceptional Circumstances: TMA Advocates “Legislative Clarity” Amid State Abortion Bans - 03/05/2024

TMA advocates “legislative clarity” amid state abortion bans.


Blue Cross Says MOC Not Needed for BlueCompare - 02/28/2024

Physicians across the state reacted strongly to a March 5 letter from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCSTX) that implied the state’s largest insurance company is now using maintenance of certification (MOC) to rate physicians. That was not the intent, the company’s president says.


Seeking Balance: TMA Opposes Feds' Implementation of the No Surprises Act - 01/03/2024

The Texas Medical Association supported the patient protections in the federal No Surprises Act but also knew from the beginning that the law's payment arbitration provisions were flawed and could give insurers an advantage.


RICO Settlements: TMA's Leadership Against Payer Abuses Resulted in Relief, Reform - 12/04/2023

Back in 2001, the Texas Medical Association and the other plaintiffs alleged the nation’s major health plans had conspired to delay and reduce payments to clinicians and hospitals; the resulting lawsuits, brought under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), represented a watershed moment in TMA history.


Noncompete Concerns Spark Ongoing TMA Advocacy, Resources - 09/19/2023

The Texas Medical Association continues to receive reports of physician concerns over noncompete agreements, underscoring medicine’s ongoing legislative and regulatory advocacy efforts to strike a balance that works for physician employers and employed physicians alike.


What You Need to Know About the Texas MOC Law - 08/23/2023

TMA's new white paper answers many questions on a tough new law that protects physicians from being forced to undergo maintenance of certification (MOC).


Practice E-Tips on Legal Topics - 07/20/2023

TMA Practice E-Tips on Legal Topics


Fighting Back: Practice Wins Court Battle Over Defamatory Online Reviews - 06/20/2023

One practice’s recent legal battle epitomizes physicians’ worst nightmares when it comes to online reviews. Here’s an extreme but glaring real world example, straight from the documents in a lawsuit that Austin Eye first filed in October 2017 over


Can 34,616 Physicians Be Wrong About MOC? - 05/05/2023

The recently released findings of a national survey show that only 12 percent of the 34,616 physicians who answered the survey value the MOC program. Forty-six percent said they have mixed feelings, and 41 percent said they do not value it.


TMA Asks AMA to Stay Out of Affordable Care Act Suit - 05/02/2023

Leaders of the Texas Medical Association on Tuesday publicly objected to the American Medical Association’s plans to get involved in a high-profile federal lawsuit — filed in Texas — challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.


Under Attack, MOC Boards Pledge Changes - 05/02/2023

Facing a revolt among their diplomates, the boards that run maintenance of certification programs have run up a white flag.


TMA Analyzes FTC Proposed Ban on Noncompetes - 03/09/2023

The interplay between federal and state efforts to ban noncompete agreements remains unclear as Texas Medical Association experts analyze a proposed Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rule on the matter.


Risk Management - 02/15/2023

Practice e-Tips on Risk Management


Pay Now or Pay Later? Supreme Court Adds Clarity Around Negligence Awards - 07/29/2022

Case by case, courts are clarifying a piece of Texas’ tort reform law that’s meant to keep physicians from paying part of a medical negligence award in one prohibitive and devastating gulp.


“Black Robes, Not White Coats”: Can Courts Compel Unproven Treatments? - 06/29/2022

COVID-19 patients and their families have involved judges and attorneys in an effort to compel physicians to treat the disease in unproven ways, against their medical judgment. And in some cases around the country, patients’ families have been successful in getting a court order to do so. The Texas Medical Association’s Committee on Patient-Physician Advocacy, while not directly involved in such cases, has a keen interest in making sure physicians can exercise their medical judgment.


Contract Do’s and Don’ts: How to Negotiate From a Place of Strength - 06/29/2022

By leaning on Texas Medical Association resources and their own health care attorney, physicians can gain confidence and better negotiate favorable terms to secure their economic success.


How to Start a Medical-Legal Partnership - 06/29/2022

Medical entities can join forces with legal entities to form medical-legal partnerships (MLPs), and these partnerships are helpful for patients whose conditions are worsened by social determinants of health.


Picking the Right Battles: TMA Stands Up for Medicine in the Courts - 06/29/2022

When a big point of legal contention arises – “big” meaning impactful for Texas physicians and their patients – the Texas Medical Association responds big. That’s been the case for decades, including in the courts. 


Supreme Court Sides With Physician’s Push to Clear National Practitioner Data Bank Record - 06/14/2022

In a major victory for medicine, a Texas Supreme Court decision has paved the way for physicians exonerated of wrongdoing to fully clear their names in the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), the federal clearinghouse that records certain adverse or disciplinary actions taken against health care workers.


Dulling the Pain of Future Damages: High Court Ruling Addresses Periodic Payments - 05/31/2022

Texas Supreme Court decision carries new implications for periodic payment of future medical expenses.


Surgeon’s Multimillion-Dollar Defamation Award Tossed by Texas Supreme Court - 05/16/2022

The Texas Supreme Court has nullified a $6.4 million jury verdict for a Houston cardiothoracic surgeon in his lawsuit alleging defamation and business disparagement by Memorial Hermann Hospital System.    


AMA Honors TMA Attorney With Lifetime Achievement Award - 05/04/2022

The American Medical Association (AMA) has honored Donald P. “Rocky” Wilcox, vice president and general counsel of the Texas Medical Association (TMA), with the Medical Executive Lifetime Achievement Award. The award honors a medical association executive who has contributed substantially to the goals and ideals of the medical profession.


Legal Legacies: TMA General Counsel Rocky Wilcox Retires After 42 Years of Service - 05/01/2022

After nearly five decades of service to organized medicine, Rocky Wilcox, the man behind TMA’s storied history of advocating for physicians and their patients through the legal and legislative systems is retiring. But the legacy he leaves behind has put physicians in Texas – even across the nation – on solid legal ground.


Investigations of Gender-Affirming Care Halted Again by Appeals Court - 03/24/2022

The latest court order in the battle over gender-affirming care in Texas has once again blocked the state from investigating that care as child abuse.


Update: OSHA Halts Enforcement of Federal Vaccine Mandate - 11/23/2021

For now, the Biden administration’s sweeping vaccination requirement for large employers is on hold after a federal appeals court blocked the regulation from going into effect, quickly responding to a lawsuit from Texas and other states. If eventually implemented, however, the administration’s rule, issued as part of a pair of regulations on Nov. 4, will carry implications for physicians in larger practice settings.