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HHSC Extends Medicaid Revalidation Another Six Months - 06/12/2025

The state is providing physicians with additional time to take a key step in caring for Medicaid patients. It’s also providing a reentry pathway for physicians disenrolled last year.

Schedule II Stimulant Medications Are Subject to the Same Prescribing Limitation as Opioids - 06/11/2025

Spotty awareness of a DEA rule’s applicability to all Schedule II controlled substances – not just opioids – could leave some physicians who prescribe Schedule II controlled substances, which includes some common stimulants, in legal peril if they run askance of it, according to member reports to TMA.

Texas Medicaid Delays Online Enrolling and Credentialing Integration - 05/22/2025

In April, the Texas Medicaid & Health Partnership had announced physicians could enroll and get credentialed in a one-stop, two-step process. The pause means the status quo remains for now.

Medicaid Funding Streams Crucial in State, Federal Advocacy Discussions - 04/17/2025

In the chance the federal government moves forward with proposed cuts that could negatively impact Medicaid, TMA is here to help Texas physicians understand and navigate Medicaid’s funding complexities. Read more.

TMA’s Top Legislative Priorities: Enhance Medicaid Payments and Coverage - 04/17/2025

TMA will work to enhance Medicaid payments and coverage this legislative session

TMA Signs Letter Calling for Congress to Protect Medicaid Funding - 04/17/2025

As the U.S. House of Representatives considers $880 billion in cuts from the committee overseeing Medicaid, TMA and all 50 state medical societies detailed the impacts such a cut would make to patient care and practice viability.

Webinar: Review Medicaid Revalidation Extension, Retroactive Enrollment - 01/30/2025

The state’s Medicaid administrator is hosting a series of informational webinars to provide details for physicians eligible for a deadline extension, as well as for those who may qualify for backdated validation after being disenrolled.

HHSC Extends Medicaid PEMS Revalidation in Response to TMA Letter - 12/06/2024

By demonstrating how the Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s (HHSC’s) Medicaid enrollment and revalidation process is “time-consuming, cumbersome and confusing,” TMA has helped secure an extension for physicians with upcoming revalidation dates. HHSC has also added new reporting requirements.

TMA Letter Calls Out HHSC Over Medicaid Payment Rates - 11/25/2024

TMA responded to the state’s latest proposed Medicaid rates, issuing a letter calling out the lack of an inflationary adjustment, bringing along anesthesiologists and oncologists who will specifically be affected. Read more.

Abbott Signals Support for Opioid Crisis Interventions - 11/18/2024

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.

First Steps: TMA Secures Medicaid Physician Rate Increases With Hopes for Momentum - 11/18/2024

TMA helped secure the first Medicaid physician rate increases in decades in hopes it will build momentum for future gains.

Abbott Signals Support for Opioid Crisis Interventions: Federal Efforts Also Are Underway - 11/18/2024

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.

Effects of Opioids and Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs on Chronic Low Back Pain and Related Measures: Results from the PRECISION Pain Research Registry - 07/30/2024

Measuring treatments used by 202 patients with chronic low back pain in the PRECISION Pain Research Registry, this study determined the associations of opioid and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) therapy with clinical status. More than one-fourth of patients did not use nonpharmacologic treatments for low back pain. Patients age 50-59 and 60-79 years old were more likely to use opioids than younger patients. Patients using opioids reported greater pain and back-related disability than did patients using NSAIDs. Patients concurrently using opioids and NSAIDs reported greater back-related disability and poorer quality of life than did patients using no or other pharmacologic therapy. No significant associations between pharmacologic therapy and clinical status remained after controlling for potential confounders. Neither opioids nor opioids combined with NSAIDs were more effective than just NSAIDs. Greater use of nonpharmacologic therapies and better second-line, nonopioid ph...

New TMA Policy: Reduce Fentanyl Overdoses with Improved Naloxone Access - 06/24/2024

Over a 27-hour period this spring, the city of Austin saw nine people die across 79 separate overdose incidents, reflecting the severity of the statewide fentanyl crisis. Policy approved by the Texas Medical Association’s House of Delegates in May anticipated the problem and promotes one of the most effective solutions – increased education about and distribution of naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal drug.

Physicians Must Validate Email to Avoid Medicaid Disenrollment, Payment Delays - 05/29/2024

Texas physicians who care for Medicaid patients should confirm their email address is valid in the Texas Medicaid and Healthcare Partnership’s Provider Enrollment Management System to ensure effective communication and timely payments from the state Medicaid administrator.

Feds Extend Marketplace Special Enrollment Amid Medicaid Unwinding - 04/19/2024

Texas patients who have been disenrolled from Medicaid in the wake of the COVID-19 public health emergency now have more time to find alternative coverage on the federal marketplace. The extension could mitigate a coverage cliff about which the Texas Medical Association has long raised concerns.

Postpartum Coverage Extension Brings Payment Complexities - 04/05/2024

As the 12-month postpartum coverage Texas legislature approved took effect March 1, physicians and their practice staff should take note of subsequent payment complexities, Texas Medical Association experts caution.

Medicaid, CHIP Postpartum Coverage Extension Will Take Effect March 1 - 02/08/2024

After a multi-session advocacy effort by the Texas Medical Association, specialty societies, and women’s health advocates, Texans who are enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program and who are pregnant or become pregnant will see their postpartum coverage automatically extended starting March 1.

Spending Growth Rate for Physician Services Slows - 01/09/2024

Although spending on physician and clinical services increased 2.7% year-over-year to $884.9 billion in 2022, the spending growth rate fell, due in part to a slowdown in the use of such services and in physician prices. In comparison, spending on physicians and clinical services grew 5.3% in 2021.

Physicians’ DEA Registration Now Requires Training on Substance Use Disorder - 01/03/2024

Physicians who must register or renew their registration for a Drug Enforcement Administration license will face a new requirement as of June 27: To register, they will have attest to taking a one-time, eight-hour training on how to treat patients with opioid or other substance use disorders.

Feds Extend Telemedicine Prescribing Flexibilities Through 2024 - 11/10/2023

With permanent telehealth prescribing policies still under consideration, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) again has extended temporary pandemic-era telehealth flexibilities to allow physicians to virtually prescribe certain controlled medications, now through Dec. 31, 2024.

On the Mend: Maternal Care Wins Encourage Better Outcomes in Texas - 11/05/2023

Twelve months of postpartum coverage and other maternal wins encourage physicians for better outcomes.

Report Aims to Catalyze Texas Medicaid’s Shift to Value-Based Care - 11/02/2023

A new report aims to accelerate Texas Medicaid’s transition from a fee-for-service payment model to a value-based one, a shift that has been underway for 25 years.

Coming Unwound: Mass Disenrollments Hurt Patients and Physicians Alike - 11/02/2023

The end of continuous Medicaid eligibility has led to mass disenrollments, hurting patients and physicians alike.

CDC Grant Funds Drug Overdose Data Collection in Texas - 10/30/2023

A nearly $4 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could give Texas physicians new tools to handle national opioid and mental health crises, which have made it difficult to identify patients at risk for substance use disorders.