Magazine story

An Unfailing Voice for Medicine: TMA Honors Kenneth Mattox, MD - 03/28/2024

TMA honors Houston trauma surgeon Kenneth Mattox, MD, for his dedication to public health.


All One Family - 03/28/2024

TMA Alliance presidents share their passion for building and bonding the Family of Medicine


Speaking Their Language: TMA Experts Fight for Physicians’ Best Interests - 03/28/2024

Texas Medical Association experts communicate with payers on behalf of physicians’ best interests.


Still Beating: Rick Snyder, MD, “Won't Stop Knocking on Legislators' Doors” - 03/28/2024

Despite the end of his term, outgoing TMA President Rick Snyder, MD, “won't stop knocking on legislators' doors anytime soon.”


Data-Driven Interventions: TMA Zeroes in on Quality Opioid Care - 03/27/2024

TMA zeroes in on physicians’ obstacles to quality opioid care.


Cultivating Healthy Communities: TMA's Strategic Plan Prioritizes Wellness for Patients and Physicians - 03/26/2024

The second goal in the Texas Medical Association's five-pronged strategic plan is to build health communities through physician relations so patients and physicians can achieve peak wellness.


Lifelong Leadership: TMA Debuts Development Program for Physicians at Every Career Stage - 03/26/2024

The Texas Medical Association's new Lifelong Leadership Program is a self-paced, 18-month program free to any TMA member physician; along with the Leadership College and the Leadership Summit, the program responds to members' requests for more career development opportunities.


Straight Shooter: Incoming TMA President Ray Callas, MD, Aims for Practice Protections, Membership Gains - 03/26/2024

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.


Closing the Loop: Payers Address Social Drivers of Health - 03/15/2024

Houston family physician Lindsay Botsford, MD, received a call in late February from a Medicare patient with shingles. She prescribed an antiviral medication to treat the infection – and then the real work began.


Medicare Advantage – and Disadvantage: Program Enrollment Grows Amid Physician Concerns - 03/15/2024

Despite its growing popularity among Medicare patients, Medicare Advantage is divisive among physicians.


Power Data: Texas' Claims Database Will Help Clarify Care Costs - 03/15/2024

Texas is building an all-payer claims database, which will provide a clearer view of opaque health care costs.


Quality of Life: Pay-for-Quality Programs Increasingly Address Nonmedical Drivers of Health - 03/15/2024

Insurance payers seldom give physicians incentives to address nonmedical drivers of health, especially in traditional fee-for-service payer contracts. Those incentives remain rare even in pay-for-quality programs that emphasize value-based care, but they are gaining traction.


Residency Revival: Grassroots Advocacy Averts Residency Program Closure - 03/12/2024

Grassroots physician advocacy averts emergency medicine residency program closure.


Party With a Purpose - 03/05/2024

The Texas Medical Association Foundation’s (TMAF’s) 31st annual gala, Wonderland, will feature designs and décor inspired by Lewis Carroll’s classic story Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.


Middle Ground: Medicare Offers Options Amid Shift to Value-Based Care - 03/05/2024

Physicians are divided on the issue of value-based care, but, with Medicare forging ahead, the Texas Medical Association is focused on monitoring the development of alternative payment models, educating members about their options, and advocating for physician protections.


Championing Physician Leadership: Strategic Plan Aims to Cultivate Leaders - 03/05/2024

TMA’s strategic plan aims to cultivate skilled physician leaders.


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

TMA advocates “legislative clarity” amid state abortion bans.


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.


Telemedicine Flexibilities Preserved in Medicare Fee Schedule - 03/05/2024

The 2024 Medicare physician fee schedule (MPFS) extended several pandemic-era telehealth flexibilities, many of which impact physicians who treat rural patients and those with behavioral health needs.


Coding Changes in Fee Schedule Promote More Accurate Payment for Complex Visits - 03/05/2024

The 2024 Medicare physician fee schedule allows physicians to list G2211 in addition to codes used in office or outpatient visits for new or established patients (i.e., 99202-99215). Physicians also can use it for telehealth visits.


Texas Medicine Back Issues - 03/04/2024

Back Issues


Texas Medicine Magazine - 03/04/2024

Texas Medicine Magazine


TMA to Start 2024 Listening Tour - 02/29/2024

The TMA Board of Trustees, leadership, and staff are hitting the road in 2024 to learn directly from Texas physicians what is working, what isn’t, and what TMA can do to ensure Texas is the best place to practice medicine.


Surprise! Balance Billing Still a Focus at the Capitol - 02/20/2024

A year after the house of medicine scored big wins on some of the state’s biggest insurance issues, the Texas Legislature is trying to dive further into what is and what isn’t working.