Related Stories

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 Develops New AI Education - 03/10/2024

Responding to significant interest from members after a 2023 standing-room-only TexMed event, the Texas Medical Association has developed a free webinar for members to learn how to integrate augmented or artificial intelligence technology, including ChatGPT, into patient care.

Find Other CME - 02/29/2024

Check out other CME offerings from around the state.

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.

May Owen, MD, Outreach Program Funds Women Physician Programs, Activities - 02/26/2024

To partner with small and mid-sized county medical societies to provide women physicians with programming and activities at the local level, the Texas Medical Association’s Women Physicians Section has established the May Owen, MD, Outreach Program.

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.

TexMed 2024 CME Submissions Are Open - 01/11/2024

Have an educational topic in mind to be considered for TexMed 2024, taking place at the Omni Dallas, May 2-4, 2024?

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.  

Physicians’ DEA Registration Now Requires Training on Substance Use Disorder - 01/03/2024

Physicians who must register or renew their registration for a Drug Enforcement Administration license will face a new requirement as of June 27: To register, they will have attest to taking a one-time, eight-hour training on how to treat patients with opioid or other substance use disorders.

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.

Feds Extend Telemedicine Prescribing Flexibilities Through 2024 - 11/10/2023

With permanent telehealth prescribing policies still under consideration, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) again has extended temporary pandemic-era telehealth flexibilities to allow physicians to virtually prescribe certain controlled medications, now through Dec. 31, 2024.

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.

CDC Grant Funds Drug Overdose Data Collection in Texas - 10/30/2023

A nearly $4 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could give Texas physicians new tools to handle national opioid and mental health crises, which have made it difficult to identify patients at risk for substance use disorders.

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

Help Promote National Drug Prescription Take Back Day on Oct. 28 - 10/19/2023

Prescription Drug Take Back Day, which allows people to dispose of prescription drugs safely and anonymously, is scheduled for Oct. 26 at locations throughout the state.

Texas' Broadband Boom: An Influx of Funds Could Turbocharge Telehealth Access - 10/18/2023

The federal government recently granted Texas $3.3 billion – the largest award of any U.S. state – to deploy and upgrade broadband networks, critical to ensuring access to telehealth care.

Impact of TMA’s Legislative Wins for Practices Addressed at Business of Medicine - 10/10/2023

Rounding out a weekend of business meetings and educational sessions aimed at navigating modern health care challenges, the Texas Medical Association’s inaugural Business of Medicine conference concluded with the tradition of an update of medicine’s hard-fought wins during the legislative session and what those wins mean for the practice of medicine.

State Law Banning Refusal of Care to Certain Unvaccinated Patients Takes Effect - 09/26/2023

Starting Sept. 1, a new state law prohibits clinicians caring for patients enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to refuse health care services based on their vaccination status.

Physicians Warn: New Drug Overdose Threat Contains Veterinary Tranquilizer Xylazine - 09/18/2023

Xylazine, a tranquilizer used in veterinary medicine, is appearing in illicit street drugs with fentanyl, compounding the dangers of the opioid overdose epidemic. Xylazine, also called “tranq” according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, is used to tranquilize animals. It is not approved for human use and has killed people who have taken the drug.