AMA Taps TMA Immediate Past President for Medicare Advocacy Leadership
By Phil West

When physicians take to Capitol Hill this month to support legislation addressing Medicare payment reform, a Texas Medical Association leader will be among a select group of American Medical Association members leading the advocacy charge.

Texas Medical Association Immediate Past President Jayesh “Jay” Shah, MD, now serves as one of 12 members of AMA’s Council on Legislation, which reviews proposed federal legislation and recommends action in line with AMA policy.

That body will participate in federal advocacy in Washington, D.C., this September, following the comment period for another in a series of disappointing Medicare physician fee schedule proposals that – once again – decrease physician payment while transitioning from the problematic Merit-Based Incentive Payment System to its next concerning iteration.

“After being president of TMA and understanding the needs of our Texas patients and Texas physicians, it’s a great opportunity for me to advocate for them at the national level,” Dr. Shah told Texas Medicine Today.

Chief on physicians’ minds as they prepare discussions with federal lawmakers: stabilizing and modernizing Medicare physician payment. That work is central to both TMA and AMA’s ongoing advocacy – especially with the major concerns in the latest proposed fee schedule, including changes to modifier 25 that would further reduce physician payment and compromise practice viability and patient care.   

As a Council on Legislation member, Dr. Shah says he will be in on discussions concerning several potential legislative fixes for Medicare payment now before Congress.

The San Antonio internist and wound care specialist says the role of artificial intelligence in medicine and the spread of medical misinformation among patients will also figure into the council’s considerations.

“Unless we have regulations, we cannot safeguard our patients,” he said.

Dr. Shah also has been named vice chair of the Texas Delegation to the AMA, taking a leadership role for the group of physicians representing TMA on the national stage. He will serve alongside delegation chair Michelle Berger, MD, who was recently appointed chair-elect of the multistate coalition known as “The Big 5.”

“[Dr. Shah’s] been a leader for a long time [on] the national level and state level, and we're really happy to have him on the Council on Legislation because he brings a really important perspective,” Dr. Berger said. “[International medical graduates] are a significant part of our physician population in the country, and he’s got lots of experience, and just we’re really glad to have him as a leader.”

Dr. Shah – who came to the U.S. on a J-1 visa to study medicine at Columbia University – was the first Indian American to serve as TMA president. During his tenure, he promoted physician wellness, advocated to better the burdensome prior authorization process, and amplified physician voices through the power of podcasting.

Dr. Berger added that Dr. Shah “really cares and works so hard ... I don't know if there's anybody who works harder.”

Thanks to TMA’s strength as an organization, its vocal leadership, and its sizable body of physicians, the Texas Delegation is highly regarded and respected throughout AMA, she says.

“Over the years, we’ve managed to build a really good reputation,” Dr. Berger said. “People know what Texas says has been thought out, it’s been evaluated, and it really has to do with patient care and putting physicians in a place that we can provide good patient care. We’ve got respect and a really good reputation ... when Texas speaks, people tend to listen.”

In addition to Dr. Shah, TMA leaders were elected or appointed to new AMA roles:

• TMA Speaker of the House John G. Flores, MD, chair, Organized Medical Staff Section;
• TMA Council on Legislation member Vivek Rao, MD, alternate, Organized Medical Staff Section;
• Christopher K. Wong, MD, Resident and Fellow Section representative, Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs;
• Roxanne Tyroch, MD, chair-elect, Private Practice Physicians Section Governing Council;
• G. Sealy Massingill, MD, chair, Council on Long Range Planning & Development;
• Bryan Johnson, MD, representing the American College of Physicians, alternate advisor, RVS Update Committee;
• Hilary E. Fairbrother, MD, chair, Specialty and Service Society;
• Cheryl Hurd, MD, Reference Committee F; and
• Likhit Agrawal, a fourth-year medical student at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, vice chair, Medical Student Section.

Learn more about the Texas Delegation and how to become more involved in AMA.