Related Stories

Coming Up Short: TMA Workforce Report Underscores Access Challenges, Advocacy Wins - 04/30/2024

While the study highlights positive growth facilitated by TMA’s ongoing advocacy, it shows shortages that mirror those across the health care professional workforce and that are particularly entrenched in rural areas; it also reveals challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and by other factors, economic or otherwise, that have complicated Texas' practice environment and impacted recruitment.

Innovation for Every Age: Texas Primary Care Physicians Improve Access for Older Patients - 04/30/2024

Texas' population is aging, highlighting the importance of access to high-quality, coordinated primary care that bridges complex systems, various clinicians, and concurrent chronic conditions.

Texas Senate Interim Charges Underscore TMA Legislative Priorities - 04/29/2024

Scope-of-practice creep and access to mental health care are among the 57 charges Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick recently issued for Senate committees to study ahead of the 2025 legislative session. The Texas Medical Association’s advocacy for medicine-friendly policy also continues apace during the interim, with the association closely monitoring several of these charges.

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 Moment in Time: First Tuesdays at the Capitol - 04/09/2024

TMA’s signature advocacy event offers invaluable facetime with lawmakers.

TMA Scholarship Cultivates a Diverse Workforce; Apply by May 31 - 03/25/2024

Are you sharing in the excitement of someone who's just been accepted to medical school?

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

Grassroots physician advocacy averts emergency medicine residency program closure.

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.

New Law Prohibits Employer COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates, With Exceptions - 02/28/2024

Thanks to advocacy by the Texas Medical Association, guardrails for patient safety and practice viability are included in a new state law that prohibits employers, including physician offices and health care facilities, from mandating COVID-19 vaccines among employees.

Deadline: TMA Scholarship Fosters Diversity in Medicine - 02/27/2024

As Match Day nears, so does the deadline to apply for a Texas Medical Association scholarship helping to ensure the physician workforce more closely mirrors the population it serves.

Grassroots Physician Advocacy Fuels Early TEXPAC Win - 02/16/2024

Looking to build on the victory, TMA’s bipartisan political arm has endorsed a long list of medicine-friendly candidates, informed by local physician support and its own rigorous evaluation process. The Texas primary election is on March 5. Read more.

Governor Approves Bill to Reduce Prior Authorization Hassles - 02/14/2024

Care for countless Texas patients will happen more quickly by reducing health insurers’ bureaucratic delays, thanks to a bill Gov. Greg Abbott allowed to become law this weekend. The Texas Medical Association  prioritized curbing health insurers’ onerous prior authorization practices this legislative session, resulting in passage of House Bill 3459 by Rep. Greg Bonnen, MD (R-Friendswood), and Sen. Dawn Buckingham, MD (R-Lakeway), with considerable support by Sen. Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound).

Patient Care Protected: TMA Secured Big Legislative Wins With a New Strategy - 01/11/2024

Guided by a set of priorities and girded by grassroots physician advocacy, the Texas Medical Association entered the 2023 legislative session with a laser focused approach and came out hitting targets in every area of medicine’s agenda.

Safety in Statute: State Law Guides Violence Prevention in Health Care - 01/05/2024

A new state law guides violence prevention plans in health care.  

A Helping Hand for Future Physicians: The Diversity in Medicine Scholarship - 12/19/2023

Medical school can be an expensive undertaking. The Diversity in Medicine Scholarship aims to make pursuing this noble profession more accessible.

Corpus Hospital Revives Emergency Medicine Residency Program - 12/15/2023

Following a grassroots advocacy effort by local physicians, CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital in Corpus Christi recently reversed its plan to close the CHRISTUS Health-Texas A&M Spohn Hospital Emergency Medicine Residency program in 2026. The program will continue at least through 2029 thanks to funding from the Nueces County Hospital District.

Closing the Gap: New Texas Network Adequacy Law Tackles Waivers - 12/04/2023

Although Texas has some of the strongest network adequacy rules in the country, poor enforcement and an overused waiver system have weakened physician practice viability and patients’ access to in-network care; thanks to advocacy by the Texas Medical Association, this will soon change.

First Tuesdays at the Capitol Was a Virtual Success - 11/30/2023

Almost 200 physicians, medical students, and alliance advocates logged on to Zoom for the first-ever virtual First Tuesdays at the Capitol on Tuesday, which featured an in-depth briefing on TMA’s legislative agenda for this session.

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.

First Steps: TMA Secures Medicaid Physician Rate Increases With Hopes for Momentum - 11/05/2023

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

RFS Executive Council - 10/30/2023

Resident and Fellow Section Executive Council

All You Need to Do Is RSVP: Alliance Leader Opens Invitation to Medical Advocacy - 10/26/2023

TMA Alliance leader Jenny Shepherd’s open invitation to medical advocacy is an award-winning approach

Corpus Hospital Closes ER Residency - 10/24/2023

Christus Spohn Hospital recently announced its plan to close its emergency medicine residency program in June 2026. This came as a shock to the medical community. The statement from Christus cited consideration of the availability of resources as the reason for the unexpected closure. Read the op-ed.

Unlocking Doors: Diversity in Medicine Scholarship Program Connects Students with Mentors - 10/21/2023

When the Texas Medical Association founded its Diversity in Medicine Scholarship Program in 1998 to diversify the physician workforce, Dr. Ramamurthy became both a contributor and a mentor to students who receive the scholarships. “When you’re mentoring students, one of the things that you want them to understand is that you’re somebody they can talk to who is not only there as a teacher, but as a friend,” she said. Other top donors to the Diversity in Medicine Scholarship serve voluntarily as mentors to student awardees. TMA encourages those arrangements because they can benefit both parties.

Inspiring Choices: Mentorship Can Boost African-American Representation in Medicine - 10/20/2023

African Americans are underrepresented in medicine. Mentorship can help them choose medical careers.