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Scope of practice. Medical liability reform protections. Practice viability. The Texas Medical Association is looking ahead to next year’s legislative session with these and others among its top 10 legislative priorities unveiled by TMA President Bradford W. Holland, MD, at the association’s highly attended Leadership Summit Sept. 17-19.
With the Texas’ 90th legislative session set to begin Jan. 12, 2027, TMA’s Council on Legislation determined the association’s legislative priorities with input from other councils and committees on the many issues that arise each session.
Dr. Holland says these priorities reflect TMA’s overall advocacy goals for the upcoming session: ensuring safe, accessible, and high-quality physician-led care throughout Texas while mitigating regulatory, financial, and technological challenges faced by practicing physicians.
Specifically, TMA will focus its legislative efforts on:
- Reinforcing scope of practice and patient safety;
- Protecting medical liability reforms;
- Promoting practice viability and reducing physicians’ administrative burdens;
- Supporting Texas’ physician workforce, graduate medical education, and rural health care;
- Improving Medicaid payment rates and coverage;
- Fighting for immunization protections;
- Advocating for a competitive, fair health insurance system that is affordable and available to patients;
- Calling for artificial intelligence (AI) regulations in health care;
- Bolstering women’s health; and
- Passing legislation that strengthens mental and behavioral health care in Texas.
However, the list is not exhaustive; TMA continues to monitor other items likely to impact medicine and impacted by existing association policy, says Clayton Stewart, TMA chief lobbyist.
Speaking to Leadership Summit attendees during his presentation, “Scrubs, Suits, and Shenanigans: Texas Legislative Update,” Dr. Holland reminded conferencegoers that TMA legislative priorities are rooted in policy adopted by its House of Delegates. That policymaking process begins with TMA members, who bring issues forward for consideration – a system that can generate policy the Council on Legislation uses to help establish legislative priorities.
“Let’s not forget … where our policy comes from. It comes from our TMA members. It comes from [TMA’s] House of Delegates,” said Dr. Holland, a Waco otolaryngologist.
As a member of TMA’s Council on Legislation, Temple anesthesiologist Kenisha Muse, MD, helped refine the association’s top 10 priorities – and made time to network with fellow physicians for “a deep sense of community.”
“I feel rejuvenated after coming to these meetings and speaking with colleagues,” Dr. Muse said. “Honestly, what fills my bucket the most is my council. We’re really going into battle next session, and I’m thankful TMA helps us prepare.”
Something for everyone
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Roughly 360 physicians registered to attend the two-day conference, designed for physicians to hone and expand their leadership skills, prepare for the upcoming year’s legislative session, network, and learn from over 10 hours of available CME.
For example, Friday’s Mock House of Delegates, hosted by TMA’s Speaker and Vice-Speaker of the House, John Flores, MD, and Mark Casanova, MD, respectively, let physicians earn CME through a hands-on introduction to the policymaking and governance process within TMA.
And CME sessions on technology, like “Leading Medicine Through Legal and Technological Change: AI, Telehealth, and the New Scope of Practice” provided information on AI tools, telehealth platforms, and shifting scope-of-practice laws changing the day-to-day reality of medical practice.
The day’s opening presentation “Say the Thing: Why Critical Conversations Don’t Happen-And What It’s Costing You” and its follow up breakout discussion by Therese Gopaul-Robinson, dove into why physicians may feel silenced in the workplace – and how to reclaim their power through effective communication tactics.
Likewise, Saturday’s closing session, “Combating Health Misinformation During a Public Health Crisis,” by Philip Huang, MD, highlighted the importance of physicians taking a leadership stance by speaking out against online medical misinformation.
Both opening and closing sessions were eligible for CME credit.
Temple Palliative care physician Jennifer Fan, MD, who took lessons from Leadership Summit presentations into conversation with other physicians across the weekend, called the event’s many presentations a “return on investment,” with opportunities to learn about critical conversations in the workplace, technology innovations including AI, and the workings of organized medicine.
She says after a meaningful Women Physicians Section meeting, she left the conference with a renewed sense of purpose.
“What else can I do? How else can I show up? Those are the questions I always ask myself after TMA events,” she told Texas Medicine Today.
Attendees were also invited to socialize during the conference’s networking happy hour in the event’s Expo Hall Friday night, followed by an all-conference mixer where they could battle for prizes during the party’s musical bingo.
Keep an eye on TMA’s Calendar of Meetings for information on upcoming leadership events. For more information on TMA’s work for next session, see TMA’s State Advocacy webpage.