Stories written by Joey Berlin

Feds Halt Distribution of Monoclonal Antibody Therapy for COVID-19 - 09/25/2024

Federal health authorities are pausing distribution of a combination monoclonal antibody therapy for COVID-19 that had previously been approved for emergency use, and are recommending using other antibody therapies to treat new COVID-19 variants growing in prominence. The Office of the Assistant Secretary for

FDA Issues Guillain-Barré Warning on J&J COVID-19 Vaccine - 09/25/2024

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated information about the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to include a warning about increased risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome. FDA approved the requested changes to the fact sheets  on the vaccine by the drugmaker Janssen Biotech. According to the ne

FDA Grants Full Approval to Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine - 09/24/2024

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine became the first to receive full approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday following what the agency described as a thorough and rigorous review process. Previously known as the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, the two-dose shot now will be marketed under the na

El Paso Finds a Recipe for Vaccination Success - 09/24/2024

While city and county health authorities all over Texas keep searching for a recipe to get more local residents vaccinated for COVID-19, El Paso – the city and the county – have found what Ogechika Alozie, MD, calls a “secret sauce.”  About a year after being one of the state’s most troublesome hot sp

DSHS Taking Orders for COVID-19 Vaccine Record Cards - 09/24/2024

If you’ve enrolled to administer COVID-19 vaccines with the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), you can now order vaccine record cards from the agency. Both DSHS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) require physicians and other practitioners administering COVID-19 vaccines t

CDC: Physicians Should “Strongly Recommend” COVID Vaccine for Pregnant People - 09/23/2024

In light of a low COVID-19 vaccination rate among people who are pregnant, and a recent high in COVID-19-related deaths among that population, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is asking health care professionals to “strongly recommend” the vaccine to people who are pregnant, trying to become p

“Overlooked” Pediatricians Fight for Survival During Pandemic - 09/20/2024

For Angela Moemeka, MD, COVID-19 was a rude welcome to a nascent solo practice. The Coppell pediatrician opened her one-doc shop, Mark9 Pediatrics, in November. Now, nearly six months and one sweeping pandemic later, she’s in the same boat as many of her fellow pediatricians: Patient volume is down, and the

Court Sides With Medical Examiner in Suit Over Autopsy - 08/09/2024

With the Texas Medical Association’s help, a Harris County medical examiner has won the latest battle in a lawsuit over an autopsy he performed following a woman’s 2007 shooting death.

Physicians Will Lead Legislature’s Controlled Substances Committee - 08/09/2024

When a special joint committee of the Texas Legislature tackles issues with controlled substances this year, physician-lawmakers will take the lead.

Medicine to Feds: Back Off Prior Authorization Requirements - 08/09/2024

The Texas Medical Association, American Medical Association, and a host of other medical societies are trying to stop onerous, care-impeding prior authorization requirements from overrunning Medicare Advantage plans.

High Court Decision in Nondisclosure Case A Win For Medicine - 07/31/2024

The Texas Supreme Court sided with the Texas Medical Association in a nondisclosure case that TMA warned would have significant, troubling implications had it gone the wrong way.

Aetna Scraps Required Prior Auth for Cataract Surgery - 05/15/2024

Organized medicine’s efforts across the nation to torpedo or curb prior authorization recently got a small but encouraging boost when Aetna rescinded its year-old preauthorization requirement for cataract surgeries.

Dawn Duster Examines “Rubik’s Cube” of New DNR Law - 04/23/2024

The in-hospital DNR law, codified as Senate Bill 11 in the 2017 Texas Legislature, went into effect on April 1, 2018. Ms. Atwood and Jason Morrow, MD, medical director of inpatient palliative medicine at University Health System in San Antonio, examined the legal requirements of the complicated law and associated ethical considerations.

TMA Pushes for Prior Authorization Limits, Clarity - 04/16/2024

After hearing story after story of delays and denials, the Texas Medical Association is pushing the Texas Legislature to sign off on measures that would significantly curb insurers’ ability to require prior authorization on needed care, as well as clarify for both physicians and patients what it means when prior authorization is required.

TMA to IRS: Direct Primary Care, Health Care-Sharing Ministries Aren’t Insurance - 04/05/2024

The Texas Medical Association is urging the IRS to reconsider a proposed rule that would classify direct primary care (DPC) arrangements and health care-sharing ministries (HSMs) as insurance.

You Write Scripts? You Better Sign Up With the PMP - 02/28/2024

If you don't yet have a user account set up with the state's prescription monitoring program (PMP), known as PMP Aware, now is a good time to get it done.

TMA, Lawmakers Working to Tackle Telemedicine Parity, Prior Authorization - 11/30/2023

As one of the most unique eras of both living and lawmaking continues, attendees at TMA’s Winter Conference heard about medicine’s legislative agenda in both Austin and Washington, D.C., and how COVID-19 has helped shape this year’s legislative focus.

Report: Most Private Payers Have Stopped COVID Cost-Sharing Waivers - 08/21/2023

Private health insurance plans have largely stopped waiving patient cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment, according to a recent report by the Peterson Center on Healthcare and Kaiser Family Foundation. The data represent an overwhelming shift from payer cost-sharing policies during 2020 as indicated by previous research.

Federal Prior Auth Bill Filed in Congress - 07/25/2023

U.S. Rep. Michael C. Burgess, MD (R-Lewisville), is following his fellow Texas physicians’ lead on curbing insurers’ hassle-laden prior authorization burdens, introducing a federal bill similar to the “gold-card” law the Texas Medical Association proposed and championed into law at the state level.

TMA Convinces CMS to Give Harvey-Affected Physicians a Break - 07/20/2023

At TMA's request, CMS announced in December that physicians in areas affected by Hurricane Harvey will not be required to participate in the Quality Payment Program's (QPP's) Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) for 2017. Thus, those physicians won't incur a 4-percent Medicare payment cut in 2019.

HHS Doling Out About $9 Billion in Fourth Phase of PRF - 07/20/2023

Texas practitioners are receiving more than $642 million in Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Phase 4 payments totaling nearly $9 billion nationally, the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced.

Legislative Hotline March 4, 2021: TMA Opposes End-of-Life Care Bill That Poses Threat to “Do No Harm” - 07/17/2023

The Texas Medical Association is once again working to stop legislative attacks on a physician’s sacred creed to “do no harm,” which includes taking care of patients in their last days.

Legislative Hotline Feb. 11, 2021: TMA, Lawmakers Seek to Strengthen State Immunization Registry - 07/17/2023

The Texas Medical Association, the Texas Hospital Association, and several state lawmakers stand behind legislation that would fix technological issues with the state’s registry, ImmTrac2, and make entry of a patient’s vaccination data the default.

Legislative Hotline Jan. 27: Texas’ 2022-23 Budget Proposals: What They Mean for Medicine - 07/17/2023

The Texas House and Senate have both unveiled their starting-point proposals for the 2022-23 budget, and the Texas Medical Association has been digging into the numbers to see what the proposals represent as a starting point for medicine. Here is a look at some of what’s in the two (largely similar) budget offerings.

Legislative Hotline Feb. 8, 2021: Why Get Involved in TMA Advocacy? “No Better Thing to Do” - 07/17/2023

"It’s vital, it’s important, it’s meaningful." TMA encourages physicians to become involved in advocating for medicine's key issues this legislative session.