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Exceptional Circumstances: TMA Advocates “Legislative Clarity” Amid State Abortion Bans - 03/05/2024

TMA advocates “legislative clarity” amid state abortion bans.


Stop Paying to Get Paid - 02/28/2024

Did you know you don’t have to accept health plan payment via virtual credit card? You have a right to request direct deposit.


Seeking Balance: TMA Opposes Feds' Implementation of the No Surprises Act - 01/03/2024

The Texas Medical Association supported the patient protections in the federal No Surprises Act but also knew from the beginning that the law's payment arbitration provisions were flawed and could give insurers an advantage.


RICO Settlements: TMA's Leadership Against Payer Abuses Resulted in Relief, Reform - 12/04/2023

Back in 2001, the Texas Medical Association and the other plaintiffs alleged the nation’s major health plans had conspired to delay and reduce payments to clinicians and hospitals; the resulting lawsuits, brought under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), represented a watershed moment in TMA history.


Feds Update HIPAA Security Risk Assessment Tool - 11/01/2023

To aid small- and medium-sized practices in complying with the HIPAA Security Rule, federal officials have updated their risk assessment tool designed to help practices identify areas where electronic  protected health information (ePHI) is at risk.


Noncompete Concerns Spark Ongoing TMA Advocacy, Resources - 09/19/2023

The Texas Medical Association continues to receive reports of physician concerns over noncompete agreements, underscoring medicine’s ongoing legislative and regulatory advocacy efforts to strike a balance that works for physician employers and employed physicians alike.


New Texas Law Shortens Data Breach Notification Period - 08/21/2023

Texas physician practices and other health care facilities soon will be required to give more timely and public notice of any breaches of computerized data, including electronic health records and billing information.


HIPAA Security Rule: Move It to Top of Mind - 08/07/2023

Problems with HIPAA Security Rule safeguards, both administrative and technical, continue to fall among the top five HIPAA security issues the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services identifies each year.


Security Risk Analysis for HIPAA — and Medicare/Medicaid? - 08/07/2023

Do you need to conduct a security risk analysis or review of your practice in the next 72 days?


Your Photocopier May Be a Security Risk - 08/07/2023

Don’t let this happen to you! A health plan paid a huge fine after it returned leased copiers that held protected health information.


Practice E-Tips on Legal Topics - 07/20/2023

TMA Practice E-Tips on Legal Topics


Fighting Back: Practice Wins Court Battle Over Defamatory Online Reviews - 06/20/2023

One practice’s recent legal battle epitomizes physicians’ worst nightmares when it comes to online reviews. Here’s an extreme but glaring real world example, straight from the documents in a lawsuit that Austin Eye first filed in October 2017 over


TMA Asks AMA to Stay Out of Affordable Care Act Suit - 05/02/2023

Leaders of the Texas Medical Association on Tuesday publicly objected to the American Medical Association’s plans to get involved in a high-profile federal lawsuit — filed in Texas — challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.


TMA Analyzes FTC Proposed Ban on Noncompetes - 03/09/2023

The interplay between federal and state efforts to ban noncompete agreements remains unclear as Texas Medical Association experts analyze a proposed Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rule on the matter.


Risk Management - 02/15/2023

Practice e-Tips on Risk Management


Pay Now or Pay Later? Supreme Court Adds Clarity Around Negligence Awards - 07/29/2022

Case by case, courts are clarifying a piece of Texas’ tort reform law that’s meant to keep physicians from paying part of a medical negligence award in one prohibitive and devastating gulp.


“Black Robes, Not White Coats”: Can Courts Compel Unproven Treatments? - 06/29/2022

COVID-19 patients and their families have involved judges and attorneys in an effort to compel physicians to treat the disease in unproven ways, against their medical judgment. And in some cases around the country, patients’ families have been successful in getting a court order to do so. The Texas Medical Association’s Committee on Patient-Physician Advocacy, while not directly involved in such cases, has a keen interest in making sure physicians can exercise their medical judgment.


Contract Do’s and Don’ts: How to Negotiate From a Place of Strength - 06/29/2022

By leaning on Texas Medical Association resources and their own health care attorney, physicians can gain confidence and better negotiate favorable terms to secure their economic success.


How to Start a Medical-Legal Partnership - 06/29/2022

Medical entities can join forces with legal entities to form medical-legal partnerships (MLPs), and these partnerships are helpful for patients whose conditions are worsened by social determinants of health.


Picking the Right Battles: TMA Stands Up for Medicine in the Courts - 06/29/2022

When a big point of legal contention arises – “big” meaning impactful for Texas physicians and their patients – the Texas Medical Association responds big. That’s been the case for decades, including in the courts. 


Supreme Court Sides With Physician’s Push to Clear National Practitioner Data Bank Record - 06/14/2022

In a major victory for medicine, a Texas Supreme Court decision has paved the way for physicians exonerated of wrongdoing to fully clear their names in the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), the federal clearinghouse that records certain adverse or disciplinary actions taken against health care workers.


Dulling the Pain of Future Damages: High Court Ruling Addresses Periodic Payments - 05/31/2022

Texas Supreme Court decision carries new implications for periodic payment of future medical expenses.


Surgeon’s Multimillion-Dollar Defamation Award Tossed by Texas Supreme Court - 05/16/2022

The Texas Supreme Court has nullified a $6.4 million jury verdict for a Houston cardiothoracic surgeon in his lawsuit alleging defamation and business disparagement by Memorial Hermann Hospital System.    


AMA Honors TMA Attorney With Lifetime Achievement Award - 05/04/2022

The American Medical Association (AMA) has honored Donald P. “Rocky” Wilcox, vice president and general counsel of the Texas Medical Association (TMA), with the Medical Executive Lifetime Achievement Award. The award honors a medical association executive who has contributed substantially to the goals and ideals of the medical profession.


Legal Legacies: TMA General Counsel Rocky Wilcox Retires After 42 Years of Service - 05/01/2022

After nearly five decades of service to organized medicine, Rocky Wilcox, the man behind TMA’s storied history of advocating for physicians and their patients through the legal and legislative systems is retiring. But the legacy he leaves behind has put physicians in Texas – even across the nation – on solid legal ground.