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87TH LEGISLATIVE WRAP-UP

The 87th Texas Legislative Session is Now in

the History Books – A Session Like No Other

By Mary E. Nava, MBA, BCMS Chief Government Affairs Officer

For the first time, the 87th Texas Legislative Session was mostly a vir- Many thanks to the following physicians from Bexar County who
tual one for physicians. There were no in-person visits to the Capitol testified on behalf of medicine’s issues this session: Adam Bruggeman,
in Austin for First Tuesdays, except for approximately 90 physicians MD, Sanjiv Kumar, MD, Michael Leonard, MD, James Lukefahr, MD,
from around the state, who were called up to testify in person on behalf Jason Morrow, MD, Zeke Silva, MD and Edward Wright, MD.
of Texas Medical Association (TMA) legislation. Overall, the Session In addition, we thank the following physicians, Alliance members
was a success for a number of medicine’s issues. Here are highlights of and medical students who participated in the virtual First Tuesdays at
some key TMA-supported priority legislation: the Capitol: Physicians – Michael Battista, MD, Daniel Deane, MD,
• House Bill (HB) 1445 by House Insurance Committee Chairman Carmen Garza, MD, Pam Hall, MD, Leah Jacobson, MD, Alex Ken-
Rep. Tom Oliverson, MD, (R-Cypress), eliminates a sales tax on ton, MD, Scott Kercheville, MD, Alisha King, MD, Rudy Molina,
outsourced medical billing services. The bill passed and was one of MD, Robyn Phillips-Madson, Joel Reyes, MD, Ninza Sanchez, MD,
the first pieces of legislation signed by the Governor. HB 1445 John Shepherd, MD and Zeke Silva, MD.
takes effect on Jan. 1, 2022. Alliance members – Jennifer Lewis, Jenny Shepherd and Martha Vi-
• HB 3459, TMA’s prior authorization “gold card” bill, by Rep. Greg jjeswarapu.
Bonnen, MD (R-Friendswood), passed and was signed into law. It Medical students – Gloimai Cowan, Rose Ann Huynh, Swetha Mad-
takes effect Sept. 1, 2021. HB 3459 removes administrative prior dipudi, Amna Naqvi, Shail Vyas and Ryan Wealther.
authorization requirements for routine prescriptions and treat- Of the over 6,900 bills filed, the Governor signed into law 1,034
ments. The bill will allow physicians to earn a “gold card” exemp- pieces of legislation that passed during the legislative session. He vetoed
tion from health plans if the physician achieves an 80% approval 20 bills and 105 bills were filed without his signature.
rating per procedure and per health plan in one plan year, thus At the time of this writing, the first called special session of the 87th
earning a “gold card” for the next year. This legislation also requires Legislature began July 8. Agenda items cover a number of items, in-
that peer-to-peer reviews be conducted by a Texas-licensed physi- cluding: Bail Reform, Election Integrity, Border Security, Article X
cian in the same or similar specialty. Funding, Family Violence Prevention, Youth Sports, Social Media Cen-
• Senate Bill (SB) 248 by Sen. Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas) estab- sorship, Abortion-inducing Drugs, Critical Race Theory, Thirteenth
lishes licensure requirements for e-cigarette retailers and calls for Check and Appropriations pertaining to property tax relief.
vaping products to be regulated the same as other tobacco prod- To read more about the outcome of medicine’s issues, see the TMA
ucts. SB 248, which becomes law without the Governor’s signature, legislative wrap-up brochure in this issue of San Antonio Medicine or
takes effect Sept. 1, 2021. visit texmed.org for more details.
• HB 133 by Rep. Toni Rose (D-Dallas), extends Medicaid coverage
for eligible women to six months postpartum instead of 60 days Mary E. Nava, MBA is the Chief Government Affairs Of-
after a woman gives birth or miscarries. The legislation takes effect ficer and Legislative/Socioeconomics Committee liaison at
Sept. 1, 2021. BCMS.
• HB 2658 by Rep. James Frank (R-Wichita Falls), improves Medi-
caid coverage for children under 19 years of age, providing two
consecutive six-month periods of coverage, with verification of a To learn more about how you can get involved in legislative advocacy,
child’s continued eligibility. This legislation started out as HB 290 consider joining the BCMS Legislative and Socioeconomics Commit-
by Rep. Philip Cortez (D-San Antonio) and was amended onto tee by submitting your request by email to mary.nava@bcms.org.
HB 2658. The legislation becomes effective Sept. 1, 2021.

22 SAN ANTONIO MEDICINE • August 2021 Visit us at www.bcms.org 23