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BCMS LEGISLATIVE
NEWS

Special Session Adjourns

The first called Special Session of the 85th Legislature adjourned sine die
one day early on Aug. 15.

On Aug. 11, the Texas Medical Board (TMB) Sunset bills were passed by
the Texas House and were signed by Governor Abbott the same day. Senate
Bill 20 extends the life of the TMB and Senate Bill 60 provides funding for
the agency. TMA President, Carlos J. Cardenas, MD thanked the Governor
and lawmakers for their actions to avert what would’ve been a health care
catastrophe.

At the time of this writing, other healthcare-related legislation signed by
the Governor included: SB 11, which will restrict the application of do-
not-resuscitate orders to competent patients when it is contrary to their
wishes and death is not imminent; SB 17, which will study trends and con-
ditions associated with pregnanacy-related deaths and also extends the life
of the Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Task Force by four years; and HB
215 which pertains to additional reporting requirements for abortions.

For more information on the special session, visit www.bcms.org or
texmed.org.

12th Annual Border Health Conference
held in Edinburg

On Friday, Aug. 4, members of the Border Health Caucus U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Flower Mound) speaks to attendees about the future
(BHC), of which BCMS is a member, hosted their 12th annual of the ACA during the Border Health Conference in Edinburg on August 4.
conference at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance in
Edinburg. Numerous topics were discussed, including: access to
care; critical health care needs and challenges on both sides of the
border; public health infrastructure; and Affordable Health Care
Act (ACA) reform and the future.

On the topic of cross border health issues, the importance of
Texas collaborating with health officials in Mexico was highlighted
because many of the health issues and concerns patients face along
the border also affect Texas and other parts of the nation. The con-
ference was led by BHC Vice Chair Luis Benavides, MD of
Laredo; TMA President and founding BHC member, Carlos J.
Cardenas, MD of Edinburg and honorary conference chair, U.S.
Rep. Filemon Vela (D-Brownsville). U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez
(D-Corpus Christi) and U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Flower
Mound) also attended and provided remarks from their perspec-
tives in Congress. Representing BCMS were Jesse Moss, Jr., MD
and Mary Nava, BCMS chief government affairs officer.

For local discussion on these and other legislative advocacy topics, consider joining the BCMS Legislative and Socioeconomics
Committee by contacting Mary Nava, chief government affairs officer and lobbyist at mary.nava@bcms.org.

12 San Antonio Medicine • September 2017